Zoids: Shadows of the Past
by Loriena
Summary: *Edited; rants taken out, mistakes fixed.* B/L Bit has to face his past as new enemies and new allies are discovered, while in the background a plot to destroy all humanity on Zi is being formed...
1. The Stuffed Organoid

Zoids: Shadow Saga  
  
Part I: Shadows of the Past (edited version)  
  
Chapter I: The Stuffed Organoid  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Zoids. However, I do own the characters in this story that I make up and any new Zoids, or any new creatures altogether (cough). I also own my few original concepts, which you will learn later in the story. Note that because I can't get the italics to work, thoughts are marked with *astrics* unless it is stated that they thought the remark, as in, "Oh my goodness! thought Nanase" and the like. Flashbacks (which happen often) are marked with *astrics.* On another note, this is the edited chapter, so all annoying, evil rants that scare reviewers away have been taken out for the good of mankind. Thanks to all of my supporters, who are currently reading the unfinished sequel, and good luck putting up with my battle-avoiding, reviewer-scaring writing skills to those of you who just discovered my little story of Bit's past, which has grown much more than I originally intended.  
  
"Nanase!"  
  
At the command of her superior, Nanase entered his quarters, blond curly hair bobbing up and down. She worked for the infamous Backdraft Group, helping Commander Altiel modify Zoids and recruit new members. She had been there for as long as she could remember. Up to age nine she had no past. Nanase was the only name she had remembered when the Backdraft said they found her, so logically they had called her that ever since. As she looked around Altiel's quarters, her green eyes rested on a picture of a familiar Zoid with a young Commander Altiel standing next to it and giving the peace sign. What it was, Nanase wasn't quite sure. But somehow she remembered it. Nanase found herself shivering at the Zoid's picture, but she didn't know why.  
  
Altiel walked over and placed the framed picture face down. "The Committee of Seven has decided to give you a mission." He sat down in his chair and looked out the huge window. Nanase could tell that his thoughts were not focused on what he was telling her. "Your mission is to find and recover the destroyed Berserk Fury, and to release the organoid permanently bonded with it."  
  
"What?!" cried Nanase, shocked. "How am I supposed to do that?!"  
  
"Figure it out." Altiel dismissed Nanase. "Now, go take your Zoid and do as you're told. You should be grateful that the Backdraft was kind enough to take you in. Without us, you would have died."  
  
"Yes, sir," murmured Nanase. Yeah right, she thought.  
  
***  
  
Bit was humming to himself when the Blitz team base finally came into view. For almost a month he had been on an extended vacation, and now he had to return to Zoid battles. He was broke and couldn't afford to be on vacation any longer. Besides, the Blitz team probably needed him, if they had started their Class S battles before he came back. Bit could hear a happy roar as he pulled the jeep into the hangar.  
  
"Hey, partner!" shouted Bit. "How ya been? Missed me?" Liger roared. "Oh, so you just missed the Zoid battles. Figures." Bit laughed along with his Zoid, the Liger Zero, an Ultimate X. An Ultimate X was a Zoid who was permanently bonded with an organoid, an organic Zoid. Liger had a mind of his own and didn't rely on his pilot to make him do everything like other Zoids had to.  
  
"Oh, Bit!" A yell came from inside of the base, and soon Leena Toros came out to the hangar, hands behind her back. "So you're back, took you long enough. We can finally get back to winning Zoid battles."  
  
"I'm happy to see you too, Leena," said Bit sarcastically.  
  
"Good." Leena smiled. "Listen, while you were gone Dad wanted me to get you Zoid gear so he could upgrade it. I couldn't find it, but I did find this..."  
  
As Leena produced a small, very charred silver-colored stuffed organoid from behind her back, her smile faded. Bit's face had turned white. For a moment the two stood motionless, not knowing what to say. Suddenly Bit almost broke into tears.  
  
"Gimmee that, Leena!" he shouted angrily, regaining his stance. "I don't want you guys going through my personal stuff anymore, okay? Is that too much to ask?!" Bit grabbed the toy away from her and walked into the base, leaving Leena standing shocked.  
  
*Bit walked into the little house. "Kylie!" he called. "Kylie, where are you?"  
  
"Over here, Bit!" Bit looked over to see his little sister reaching underneath the couch. "I can't reach Zeke... Can you get him for me?"  
  
Bit rolled his eyes in despair, thinking of her stuffed organoid. Kylie had lovingly named it Zeke, after the deceased hero Van Fleiheit's organoid. Stuffed animals were for kids. He was ten, he wasn't a kid anymore.  
  
"Sure," sighed Bit, kneeling down and feeling underneath the couch until he felt the familiar fuzzy form. He pulled it out and handed it to Kylie. "There, you happy now?"  
  
Kylie smiled. "Thank you, onii-san (note: onii-san means 'older brother' in Japanese)!" Happily, she kissed him on the cheek and Bit tried to push her away.  
  
"Please, don't do that." Bit ruffled her hair and the two walked out to find their parents.* 


	2. Sylvia

Chapter II: Sylvia  
  
After stashing the stuffed organoid somewhere in his room, Bit walked back out to the hangar, looking for Leena. He had decided that he should apologize for yelling at her like that. Maybe he had been too hard on her... It had been uncalled for at that time. Besides, it wasn't a good thing to have Leena mad at you for very long.  
  
"Leena!" he called. There was no reply, but Bit heard Liger growl softly. He turned the corner to see Leena. It was her hair, all right, but for once, she was weirdly wearing a dress. Maybe he had involuntarily changed her from being a tomboy. The sixteen-year-old grinned at the notion.  
  
"Hey, Leena..." Bit walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. It went right through.  
  
Bit yelled and jumped backwards. "What the-?! Leena?!"  
  
The ghost, or whatever it was, turned around and looked at Bit. *I'm not Leena, Bit. My name is Sylvia. You didn't remember? ...I should think you'd recognize me.* (note: Bit hears this in his thoughts.)  
  
Bit thought for a moment. Maybe she was right- no, he didn't recognize her. And she couldn't be Leena, "Sylvia" had green eyes while Leena's were purple. "Err, no, actually, I don't know you."  
  
*Don't deny it, Bit. Of course you remember me. Just because I haven't aged doesn't mean you can't recognize me...*  
  
"Then-" started Bit. His face went white once again. "Then you're a ghost?"  
  
She sighed. *No, Bit, I'm not a ghost. Only a Shadow.* In the blink of an eye the following flashed through his head:  
  
*A Rev Raptor ran outside of a burning little village, towards three other Zoids. "Hey!" yelled its pilot - Sylvia. "Who gave you the right to burn down a village?" She moved her Zoid into action. Though at first it seemed as though she was doing fairly well against the three Gun Snipers, that all ended when another Zoid appeared. It was black with many golden horns, and perched on top of it were many large guns. In these parts it was commonly known as a Gun Blaster.  
  
With one simple blow, the Rev Raptor was laid low. Its speed and agility was no match for the brute force of its opponent. Sylvia cursed under her breath as the Gun Blaster moved in for the kill. "Twilight!" she yelled, and a streak of light came out of nowhere, going straight into her Rev Raptor. Instantly all damages on her Zoid were healed and it stood up, roaring fiercely. "HA!" she said cockily. "You can't beat me now! Twilight, Shadow mode!"  
  
This time it was the Gun Blaster's pilot's turn to curse as the raptor-type Zoid's shadow seemed to come off of the ground and form around it. Soon you could see right through it.*  
  
"Cool," Bit said to himself. "I wish Liger could do that." Liger growled impatiently, indicating that he could "see" the story as well, and that he thought it wasn't quite over.  
  
*Only Shadow Zoids and black organoids can do it. I had-have-a black organoid called Twilight. Once you're in Shadow mode, you can attack others but they can't hurt you.*  
  
"Then why are you in it now? Couldn't you have come as a normal person so I wouldn't be scared half to death?" asked Bit, scratching his head.  
  
*As well as the Zoid, the pilot is also "transformed"... But other Zoids in the Shadow mode can attack. I didn't know that the Gun Blaster was equipped with it. Obviously I was no match; if your Zoid is destroyed while in Shadow mode... then you're stuck that way forever.*  
  
"Wait..."murmured Bit. "Then that village behind you..."  
  
*Yes, Bit... That was the Wind Colony, where you used to live.*  
  
(that was the shortest chapter i've ever written) 


	3. Shadow, the Black Organoid

Chapter III: Shadow, the Black Organoid  
  
The Blitz team sat in the Tactics room, pretending to listen to Jamie's strategy for their first battle in class S. Leena was flicking wads of paper at Bit, who was once again trying to apologize. Dr. Toros was playing with most of his Zoid models, setting up a war scenario. Brad was the only one actually trying to listen, while drinking a cup of coffee. He wanted to know how much money they would be getting for this.  
  
Bit caught one of the paper wads and Leena stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll be back," said Bit as he ran out of the room. In a few seconds he was back, carrying a huge cookie.  
  
"Hey!" shouted Leena. "That's MY cookie, Bit!"  
  
"I know." Bit grinned and took a huge bite out of it. Leena jumped up and started to chase him around the room.  
  
Dr. Toros dropped one of his models, a Command Wolf, and yelped. "Oh no, not that one! That was the first model I ever built! Ack!"  
  
Jamie looked on in hopelessness. He gave up trying to explain the strategy and started to bang his head on the computer screen. "ORDER!" he yelled. "Could I have some order in this room for once?!"  
  
All action stopped. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" asked Leena innocently. Jamie sweat-dropped.  
  
"Okay. Now that everyone is actually listening-" He glared at the others, who shrugged. "I can tell you about battles in Class S. As you know the only battles we've fought since the Royal Cup have been against Harry, the Tigers Team, and Naomi and Leon. Though I seriously don't know why we were fighting Harry or the Tigers Team in the first place... Anyways, before battles the opposing teams aren't required to give out information about their Zoids."  
  
"That's a disadvantage for us," mumbled Bit sadly. "Everyone already knows what OUR Zoids are, after winning the Royal Cup."  
  
"As I was saying," continued Jamie, "The prize money-"  
  
"Who are we up against anyways?" Leena thought out loud.  
  
"WE'RE UP AGAINST THE SEPHIROTH TEAM!! NOW SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH!!!" shouted Jamie in an attempt to get her to be quiet..  
  
"Ha," laughed Bit. "Whoever's in that team must have a huge ego, naming his team after himself."  
  
Leena laughed back. "Look who's talking."  
  
"Actually, Sephiroth is the only guy on that team," put in Dr. Toros, franticly trying to put back together his broken model. "So he has a good reason for naming it that way. Besides, I doubt Sephiroth is even his real name, just an alias."  
  
"Will you stop contributing to my strategy and let me tell you what it is?!" yelled Jamie in a last attempt.  
  
"Yeah, guys, shut up, he was about to tell us the amount of prize money we'll be getting." Brad sipped his coffee.  
  
"Thanks," muttered Jamie. "Like I was trying to say, the prize money in Class S is determined by the challenger. It's likely that it will be a fairly big amount, compared to what we used to earn."  
  
"Good," said Bit, glancing over at Dr. Toros.. "Then Doc won't have a reason to hack into our accounts."  
  
Jamie sighed. It was useless to try to keep them from interrupting. "Anyways, the battle mode is 0109. That's a new one to me, Doc will have to explain it."  
  
"YES!!!" yelled Dr. Toros, triumphantly holding up the model which he had fixed with glue. His face fell as the long range rifle on its back fell off. "Darn. Oh yes, 0109... Hmm. That's my absolute favorite battle mode! In this mode only two Zoids on each team may be out of the transport and active in the battle at a time. Zoids can be changed at any time in the battle."  
  
"I bet Harry could be successful with that," sighed Leena. "He has so many Zoids, the battle could go on forever!"  
  
"Actually, Leena, you're wrong. There's a time limit of ten minutes. If one team's Zoids haven't all been defeated by that time, the team who has defeated the most Zoids wins!" At this, Doc, throwing a fist in the air triumphantly, dropped his model and one of its legs snapped. "NOOOO!!!!!"  
  
"That doesn't sound too hard," said Bit. "Me and Brad can go out there first, since our Zoids are strongest."  
  
"HEY!!" yelled Jamie and Leena.  
  
"Sorry, Bit, but that's just not possible." Dr. Toros scooped up the remains of his Command Wolf and placed it on the table next to his other models. "The Shadow Fox still needs a few more repairs before we can use it again. You remember what the Berserk Fury did to it."  
  
"Then Jamie and me?" asked Bit hopefully.  
  
"Nope! We still need to replace one of the Raynos' wings. So, you're going to have to work with Leena! She's due for some more individual points, anyways. The Gun Sniper is still working perfectly. Besides, I promised her we could get some more big shiny guns for her Zoid if she earned it first..."  
  
"YAY!!!" yelled Leena happily. "Thanks, Dad!"  
  
"Those two sure like to spend money," Brad said to Bit and Jamie.  
  
"You said it. At least he's making her earn it this time."  
  
***  
  
"Leena here, mobilizing the Gun Sniper!" yelled Leena, her Zoid jumping out of the Hover Cargo.  
  
"Bit here, mobilizing Liger Zero Jager!" hollered Bit, Liger catapulting into the air and landing next to Leena.  
  
"Battle mode 0109. The Blitz team versus the Sephiroth team. Ready, fight!" The Judge finished his announcements and the battle started.  
  
***  
  
"Vega!" yelled Sarah as Vega opened the car door and got out. "Are you sure about this?"  
  
"Sarah," Vega Obscura rolled his eyes. "Stop treating me like a little kid. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just want to take a look at the Fury's wreck and see what those black boxes (note: on the back of the Fury's neck; they mention these constantly in New Century/Zero) really look like. I never got a chance to study it."  
  
"Fine, Vega." Sarah sighed and watched as Vega walked over to what used to be the Berserk Fury. "Just be careful!"  
  
Vega looked up at the Zoid he used to pilot. He knew that one day it would reawaken, and have an even better pilot than he had been. Hopefully that pilot wouldn't be intent on destroying the world or something like that. And if he or she was, then hopefully Bit Cloud and the Liger Zero would still be around to stop them.  
  
Vega stopped in his tracks. Something wasn't right. Someone who wasn't supposed to be there was coming. Someone who could, if they really wanted, bring the Fury back.  
  
"Vega?" asked Sarah from her car. "Is everything alright?"  
  
"I'm fine, Sarah," Vega yelled back. For now, at least.  
  
***  
  
"So have you spotted him yet?" asked Dr. Toros, yawning. "It's been five minutes already."  
  
"HE must have a cloaking device or something. Why don't we have any of those?"  
  
"Shut up, Bit. Do you think he's using a Helcat, Dad?" asked Leena. She was bored out of her skull.  
  
"No," sighed Dr. Toros. "Probably, he has several different Zoids or a highly modified one. Seeing as we're in battle mode 0109 he's going to wait until the last possible moment, then take out Leena, and before Bit and the Liger can catch him the battle will be over. That way, he'll have totaled more Zoids than us and won... Without the Raynos to fly over the battlefield and find our opponent, we're doomed."  
  
"Not if we find him before our last five minutes run out!" yelled Bit. "Okay, Leena. You go that way and I'll go this way."  
  
Leena's Gun Sniper and Liger took off in different directions, running across the barren terrain.  
  
***  
  
Vega opened the Fury's cockpit and looked inside, smiling. He had felt so comfortable behind its controls, at least until it had gone berserk. Why had that happened, anyways?  
  
"Hurry it up, Vega!" yelled Sarah. "We have to go in five!"  
  
Vega nodded and climbed up onto the Fury's back. Now where was that box? Maybe he could take it off of the Fury and install it onto an entirely different Zoid! On the Fury's neck, directly behind its head, Vega saw the box, the thing that made the Berserk Fury an Ultimate X. He still didn't fully understand the concept, but he didn't need to. Vega reached over to touch it and immediately withdrew his hand. His "sixth sense" told him that something was coming, right at that moment, and that he should get out of there right away.  
  
Sure enough, in the distance Vega could see a dust could in the distance. And right in front of it was a Zoid, a bipedal Zoid that looked exactly like the Berserk Fury- except that it was entirely black.  
  
"...the Shadow Fury?" Vega asked himself. He didn't know how he knew what it was called, but the name certainly creeped him out. He should probably get far away and fast. Vega jumped off of the Fury and stood looking at the approaching Zoid for a moment. A moment too long.  
  
***  
  
"Here we go!" yelled Bit. "Hey, Leena!"  
  
Leena's face appeared on a comlink screen. "What? We have only two minutes left."  
  
"Found him." Bit pulled up information on the Zoid in front of him and sent it to Leena.  
  
"What?!" shouted Leena. "A Zaber Fang?! How did one of those get into Class S? Either it's a fluke or that pilot Sephiroth must be really good at his job...."  
  
"I know," murmured Bit. "You better get over here and help."  
  
"You're all the way on the other side of the battlefield!" yelled Leena. "How am I supposed to get there so fast?"  
  
"You know, Leena, you're Gun Sniper DOES have little boosters on the back of those missile pods."  
  
"Really? WOW!! I never knew that!"  
  
Bit sweat-dropped, rolling his eyes, and then concentrated on the battle. "Okay, Liger, looks like he doesn't know we're here yet. Let's take him by surprise. Strike Laser Claw!" yelled Bit as Jager ran forward, golden claws glowing. Liger jumped into the air and came down at the Zaber Fang, roaring. At the last moment, the Zoid ran forward and Liger missed.  
  
"It seems to be upgraded excessively..." groaned Dr. Toros. "Liger's fast but the Zaber Fang's faster. Unless, of course, you use those big ion boosters of yours."  
  
"Leena, where are you?" yelled Bit. The Zaber Fang shot at Liger with its triple shock cannon, and Liger turned one of the boosters in a 90 degree angle, activating it to veer to the left.  
  
"I'm working on it, Bit!" yelled Leena. "Almost there!"  
  
"Sure," said Bit sarcastically. Another comlink screen popped up to his left, and he looked over to see the black-haired, black-eyed pilot of the Zaber Fang, a.k.a. Sephiroth.  
  
"You know, the fuzzy pandas team puts Zaber Fangs to shame," he said, sighing. "It's a wonder you even excepted my battle invitation, seeing the battle mode."  
  
"Dr. Toros excepted without consulting us, as usual," said Bit. "None of us had heard of this battle mode until now."  
  
"Yeah, well, don't plan on winning." The comlink screen disappeared and the bright-yellow Zoid took off in Leena's direction. "No one's ever beaten me in this battle mode before."  
  
"There's a first time for everything!" yelled Leena, directly in front of him. She fired a barrage of missiles at the Zaber Fang, and amazingly she actually used her sights. The only problem was that not only did the missiles hit the Zaber Fang, they also hit Liger. Both of the Zoids went down.  
  
"This was the easiest battle I've ever fought," smiled Leena.  
  
"Only because I didn't know you were there..."  
  
"The battle is over, the battle is over!" yelled the Judge. "The winner is... the Blitz team!"  
  
"Ouch." said Bit.  
  
"I have one question, Sephiroth." Dr. Toros put down his models. "Why were you running from the Liger instead of fighting Bit?"  
  
"Heck, there's no way I could beat an Ultimate X in battle," admitted Sephiroth from his Zoid. "I figured I could take out the other Zoid, but I had no idea it was so close by. After that I was just going to hide until the battle was over, and I would automatically win for defeating more Zoids."  
  
"Coward," muttered Leena.  
  
"You can't forget, Leena, he does have a point. He knows how strong he is, and that's not strong enough to beat me and the Liger!" yelled Bit. "No one can stop us!"  
  
"Sure, sometimes I can be a coward, I guess." Sephiroth grinned. Why exactly am I being friendly with these people, anyways? he thought. Well... There IS something different about this Bit kid. Reminds me of Nanase.  
  
Dr. Toros stroked his chin. "Hmm. You know, I think I have a good idea! Let's celebrate our first victory in Class S!"  
  
"Good idea," muttered Bit, still mad at Leena. "Can we send Leena on an extended vacation?"  
  
"No," commented Jamie. "I think he means have a party."  
  
"Exactly!" yelled Dr. Toros. "We could invite Oscar, Leon, Naomi, Bit's family..."  
  
"Forget it, Doc," Bit said nervously. "I don't have a family. Just invite Vega or somebody for me."  
  
"I don't see why, but okay." Dr. Toros shrugged.. "And Harry, Mary, and Dr. Layon. Oh yes, and Sephiroth since we beat him."  
  
"Don't expect me to be there, though," muttered Sephiroth as he loaded his very damaged Zaber Fang onto a white Gustav.  
  
"You're crazy, Dad!" shouted Leena. "Invite Dr. Layon, Harry, and Mary? They're all as crazy as you are!"  
  
As Dr. Toros and Leena continued their very long argument, the others sweat- dropped.  
  
***  
  
Vega was about to turn and go over to Sarah's car when the Shadow Fury stopped. He saw it out of the corner of his eye and continued watching. A streak of white light flew out of it and landed in front of Vega. Vega took a step backwards as the light receded and a girl around fifteen years old appeared. She stared at him, then at the Berserk Fury. "What the-?!" said Vega.  
  
"Hmm. Hello, Vega." The girl's green eyes smiled for a moment. "Long time no see."  
  
"It's-it's you, Nanase, from the Backdraft!"  
  
"Of course. What did you expect? Raven and Ryss wouldn't exactly be proud of you..."  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
"Silly Vega. You're a direct descendant of Raven and Ryss. This explains your love for T-rex-type Zoids, your "sixth sense," and your rivalry with the pilot of Liger Zero, whom you should have been able to beat..."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Vega, taking another step backwards. Sarah looked up from her car.  
  
"Nanase?" she said. "What is she doing here?"  
  
"That pilot is a descendant of Van Fleiheit. Van was a rival of Ryss and Raven, you know. You should. Sarah's been keeping this from you too long."  
  
"Nanase, get away from him!" yelled, Sarah, running over.  
  
"Don't worry, Sarah, I would never dream of hurting Vega." Nanase grinned strangely. "I've just always wanted to say that."  
  
"Then what do you want?" asked Vega, sighing in relief.  
  
"Well, for now I just want that big black box on the Fury's neck," said Nanase. "Altiel didn't tell me anything else-" Nanase stopped and stared at the Fury.  
  
"Something's not right," murmured Vega.  
  
"Sh-Shadow..."  
  
A streak of light flew out of the Fury, went literally straight through Vega, and landed behind Nanase. It receded to show a black organoid. A large panel in the organoid's chest opened and cables shot out. They wrapped around an amazed Nanase and pulled her in. The organoid flew off in the direction of the Shadow Fury, leaving Sarah standing shocked and Vega lying unconscious on the ground. 


	4. A Green Field of Memories

Chapter IV: A Green Field of Memories  
  
Nanase looked around herself. After Shadow-the black organoid-had somehow brought her directly inside of him, the girl had blacked out. And now she was awake again, somewhere. What, was she dead or something? Surrounding her was a luscious field of green grass and wildflowers. Either she was dead, or she wasn't on Zi anymore. Zi didn't exactly have many green fields. It was mostly a barren planet of sand, rock, and metal. Perhaps it hadn't always been like this...  
  
For now, all Nanase could do was stay there and wait. For what to happen, she didn't know. There was nothing she could do about her current situation. She found herself personally hoping that she WAS dead. Nothing on Zi would miss her. People were better off without her; anyone who had ever cared about her always ended up getting hurt, just like Vega. And usually it was her fault.  
  
***  
  
Everyone was in the Blitz team's hangar, and they were going crazy waiting for Dr. Toros to come back from town with a cake. Actually, that was the only reason most of them had come to the little party in the first place. Even Liger, though he couldn't eat cake, was starting to get crabby and growling at anyone who did something the least bit offensive to him.  
  
Just as Leena was about to snap and chase Bit to the ends of the earth for yelling at her the day before, the Doc returned with a huge, already half- eaten chocolate cake. "Hehe, I couldn't help myself?" he said pathetically. Everyone glared at him.  
  
"Suuuure," muttered Sephiroth, who had come on the alibi that he wanted to check out their other Zoids.  
  
"Okay, let's just stay calm and have the rest of the cake. It's still big enough, anyways," Leon sighed at his father's antics and tried to calm down Dr. Layon. "We're not trying to start a war here..."  
  
"I don't agree," smirked Leena. "Everyone who thinks that Dad shouldn't get any more cake, raise your hand and say 'aye!' "  
  
Naomi and Brad raised their hands. "Aye!" they shouted, acting very out of character.  
  
"Anything that Leena wants, Leena gets!" yelled Harry, raising his hand. "Aye!"  
  
"Oh, Harry, I've told you to stay away from that girl." Mary raised her hand. "Aye!!"  
  
Oscar, Jamie's dad, raised his hand while chuckling. "Ha ha, aye!"  
  
Dr. Layon raised his hand, grinning evilly. "I'm finally starting to get my revenge on you, Toros! Aye!"  
  
Bit and Jamie wearily raised their hands, saying, "Aye."  
  
Sephiroth shook his head in amusement, and said, "Aye."  
  
Dr. Toros gave a whimper but Leena stared him down. "You had enough of the cake to feed all of us for a week. No more for you!" After that, Leon stopped trying to keep the peace, and everything was slowly once again starting to go crazy, until finally Bit stopped and thought for a moment.  
  
"Where's Vega?"  
  
***  
  
A slight breeze teased Nanase's hair as she stood almost motionless, thinking. She knew nothing of her past, but maybe someday she would remember. Maybe there WAS someone out there who cared about her after all. She couldn't remember much about when she first became a very vital part of the Backdraft....  
  
*Nanase moaned and tried to stand up. Immense pain would not allow this, so she sat there and looked around. Everything was burnt, charred, scorched... The remains of what probably used to be a small town lay around her. Who had done this?  
  
The little girl realized that she couldn't remember a thing. Her name, her family, where she was... Everything was blank. Except for, of course, a little locket that lay next to her, not burned like everything else.  
  
Nanase picked it up and tried to open it. With a few unsuccessful attempts she noticed that the hinges were on the side she was trying to open. She blushed to herself and fiddled with the other side, finally succeeding in opening the piece of jewelry and looking at the picture inside.  
  
Though it was small Nanase could see it very clearly. A little family consisting of two parents, a little girl, and a boy. Could this be her family?  
  
She looked up, tears in her eyes, to see a middle-aged man in front of her. "Hello there," he said. Nanase tried to crawl backwards, away from him, but pain shot through her and she was forced to stop. Another man, much older than the other, came up behind him.  
  
"Altiel, what have you done?" he asked grimly. "You were never ordered to- oh my..."  
  
"Count!" yelled Altiel. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think that-"  
  
Count turned away. "That's right, you didn't think. And because of this many innocents have been harmed and the Backdraft Group has been put to shame. You don't deserve to have such a high-performance Zoid any more."  
  
Nanase had no idea what they were talking about. Zoids? "But, Count!" cried Altiel. "Please, forgive me!"  
  
"I can't forgive you." Mr. Count turned back to Altiel and scowled at him. "I couldn't forgive you for what you did to your sister (Sari Altiel, not in this story, a character I submitted to the interactive Zoids: Return of the Backdraft story by Maxindpogster, before interactive stories through reviews were outlawed), and I can't forgive you for this, either. No more excuses. Let us take the girl and return to the base before we are discovered."*  
  
Through the days afterward Nanase had led a very confused and painful life. No one knew the answers to her questions. All they knew was that Nanase was in very bad condition and would likely die soon if they didn't do something immediately. She still didn't understand how they had done it, but she hadn't always been the creature she was now. And she couldn't possibly forgive them for that.  
  
Back then Nanase hadn't known much about the Backdraft, and she still didn't. All she knew was that she wasn't normal anymore and that there was nothing on Zi possible of changing her back. Her only friend and the only person who understood how she felt had been Vega Obscura and now he was hurt, all because of her....  
  
***  
  
"Well, it doesn't seem like Vega's coming, so can we just have some cake and ask questions later? I'm STARVING!!!!" yelled Leena, staring at Bit, who looked worried.  
  
"I dunno, Leena." Bit turned to face her. "Something is definitely not right. But I guess we better feed these people before anything else happens..." Bit and Leena looked over at the others. Sephiroth was threatening to kill Harry, Dr. Layon was plotting revenge on Toros, Jamie had gone over to his Raynos and had started talking to it, Mary was freaking Mr. Hemeros out in her own special way, and even Brad and Naomi were starting to get a little anxious.  
  
Dr. Toros was nowhere in sight, when suddenly he popped up out of nowhere between Sephiroth and Harry. "Can't have you killing Harry!" he said childishly.  
  
"Hehe, yeah, why don't we listen to Mr. Toros!" said Harry nervously.  
  
"If I'm going to kill you I might as well now, seeing as I'll never get another chance..." pondered Sephiroth. He looked as though he wouldn't hesitate to carry out his plans.  
  
"Not unless you join the Blitz team," muttered Doc, sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"You're crazy, old man."  
  
"Break out the cake," Leena said to Bit out of the corner of her mouth.  
  
"Good idea."  
  
*Pardon, but I have a feeling that you shouldn't be celebrating quite yet.* Sylvia appeared next to the Liger, a little organoid, also stuck in the infamous Shadow mode, next to her.  
  
Everyone except for Bit took one good look at Sylvia and fell over.  
  
"And I have a feeling that the rest of you heard that too?" Bit looked at the heap of his friends and laughed.  
  
Leena up righted herself. "Who are YOU laughing at, twerp?" She looked over to Sylvia, regaining her stance. "And who exactly are you, barging in without being invited?!"  
  
*Shut up, Leena, I need to talk to Bit. It's very urgent...*  
  
"Ack! How do you know my name?!"  
  
*Answers later. I need to talk to Bit first.*  
  
Bit thought for a moment. "No. You need to talk to ALL of us. I have another feeling that this concerns more than just me and my stupid past."  
  
*Fine. I'm only preparing you for what comes later, and that requires you to face your "stupid past."*  
  
"If you don't mind me asking," said Sephiroth, "Why?"  
  
*Because this concerns someone from Bit's past, a few someones. I guess I'll have to talk to Bit later, but until then, don't forget, watch out for Shadow.*  
  
Sylvia disappeared without so much as saying goodbye.  
  
"Wait! You have to tell me-" Bit started to yell, but realized he had no choice but to wait until Sylvia was back.  
  
"I seriously don't think she has to tell you anything, Bit," said Sephiroth. "I don't know who she is but I'm familiar with the kind of technology that made her a Shadow."  
  
"Sure, but what's a Shadow?" Harry scratched his head. "Looked like a ghost to me..."  
  
Sephiroth sweat-dropped. "You're not very bright... Next to her was a black organoid, if you didn't notice."  
  
"Twilight," muttered Bit, remembering how Sylvia showed him why she was a Shadow.  
  
"Sure. Black organoids and Shadow-type Zoids can use this transformation called 'Shadow mode' so that their enemies can't hurt them. If the Zoid is in Shadow mode when it's destroyed then both the pilot and the Zoid are stuck like that forever."  
  
Naomi stepped forward. "Wait, so you're saying that Brad's Shadow Fox is capable of using this?"  
  
"Err, no, I wasn't saying that, but you're right, I guess."  
  
Naomi looked up at Brad for a moment and then looked back at Sephiroth. "But if no one else knows about this technology-except probably the Backdraft, since Layon developed the Shadow Fox-then how do you know about it?"  
  
"Hehe, sorry, can't hear you, have to go!" Sephiroth walked over to his newly repaired Zaber Fang, got in, and it took off across the empty desert.  
  
"What's with him?" asked Leena, watching the Zaber Fang leave.  
  
"Aw, who knows. Guys like him are so weird."  
  
"Shut up, Bit, I think I know after meeting you."  
  
"Meanie."  
  
Dr. Layon was muttering to himself and counting on his fingers. "Actually, I never got the chance to test the Shadow Fox's full capabilities, and that included Shadow mode..."  
  
"So it's not proven that both black organoids AND Shadow Zoids can use it, right?" asked Naomi.  
  
"Right. No, wait, wrong. If I recall correctly, I DID make another Shadow- type Zoid for the Backdraft, and it works."  
  
"So something could go wrong if we tried to use the Fox's transformation?" asked Brad.  
  
"Right."  
  
***  
  
The peacefulness was so annoyingly hard to put up with. Nanase sighed. It was very likely that she would be stuck wherever she was for a long, long time.  
  
On cue the peacefulness stopped and it started to rain. This was even worse. Personally Nanase had never liked rain. It was always so gloomy and cold, and lightning was horrible. Whenever lightning hit a Zoid...  
  
There was no time for Nanase to finish the thought. The field and the rain disappeared and the cockpit of her Zoid, the Shadow Fury, materialized around her. Once again Nanase looked around herself. Yes, though unfortunate, she was definitely back on Zi. 


	5. Bit's Apology

Chapter V: Bit's Apology  
  
Harry sat in his Whale King as his robots, Benjamin and Sebastian, piloted it home. "Oh, Harry!" called Mary musically.  
  
"What?" moaned Harry. Frankly, he was tired of her. Whoever gave her the idea to come visit him for the summer was absolutely crazy.  
  
"We really need to talk about this Leena girl." Mary walked over and sat down next to him. "You KNOW I don't approve of her."  
  
"Mary..." Harry moved away. She made him so nervous. "What if I don't want to?"  
  
"Okay. For now." Mary shrugged. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about even more, anyways."  
  
Harry's face went white. Did she want him to come home? There was nothing that could possibly be worse than that.  
  
"You know how I just love these little Zoid battles of yours," continued Mary. "So I was thinking, why don't I simply join your team for now? Since I'm here, I might as well."  
  
Harry sweat-dropped. This was definitely worse than going home.  
  
***  
  
"Brad?" Naomi walked up next to Brad and joined him in looking up at the Shadow Fox.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I want to talk to you."  
  
Brad looked over at his friend. He was growing fonder of her every day... "Okay."  
  
"Will you promise me that... that you'll never use the Shadow mode?"  
  
"Why?" Brad was surprised at this. She must care about him more than she let on.  
  
"Don't you get it?" For once Naomi had tears in her eyes. "If you use that mode and the Shadow Fox is destroyed, then you'll be stuck like Sylvia forever! Besides, Dr. Layon said he never tested the Fox's capabilities to transform and anything could go wrong."  
  
"And why do you care?" Brad knew the answer to his question. But he wanted to hear Naomi say it.  
  
"Because... because... I love you, Brad, and I don't want to lose you."  
  
"No crying about it, okay?" Brad put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I love you too, and I promise that I'll never do that while I'm in the cockpit. I'm not saying that I won't let someone else do it, though."  
  
Naomi smiled in relief and walked over to the Red Comet with Brad.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Leena."  
  
"What do you want, Bit?" Leena was eating a muffin in the hangar.  
  
Bit looked her over and his eyes fixed on the muffin. "That-" he said, "Is MY muffin."  
  
"What's it to you?"  
  
"I WOULD chase you, but...."  
  
"Yes?" Leena smirked at Bit.  
  
"I think I need to apologize."  
  
Smiling, Leena handed Bit the rest of his muffin. "Good."  
  
"Err, no thanks, you got your revenge on me during that battle and I don't want to be chased right now." Bit sat down next to her. "I got a little carried away when I yelled at you..."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry I went through your stuff."  
  
"That's okay. I think I needed to see that old thing again."  
  
"So can you tell me...?" Leena stared hopefully at Bit, who laughed uneasily.  
  
"Right," he said. "That was my little sister's. Her name was Kylie."  
  
"Hmm, and why haven't we heard of this before?"  
  
"Because she's not alive anymore."  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry..."  
  
"At least I THINK she's not. But she couldn't possibly be." Bit looked up at the darkening sky. "I'm not sure about a lot of things. See, about five years ago, there was this fire." Leena was listening intently. "And it wasn't an accident. Three Gun Snipers and a black Gun Blaster completely destroyed the village. Sylvia-you remember her-tried to stop them using that Shadow mode thing, but the Gun Blaster had it too and destroyed her Zoid. I still don't know who piloted that thing, but if ever I could get my hands on him... Anyways, my parents were inside the village looking for Kylie when it all started. I haven't seen any of them since, so they're probably dead."  
  
"Not true." Leena stood up, a hopeful look in her eyes. "C'mon, Bit, we could run a search on the internet. What was your mom's name?"  
  
"Nanase, if I remember correctly."  
  
***  
  
Nanase sat in the cockpit of her Zoid. She was unable to get out-Shadow had melded with the Shadow Fury and was controlling it. Not far off Nanase could see a base, probably owned by a Zoid team. What was Shadow doing?  
  
There was one way Nanase could get out. But that would require going IN the Fury. Literally into its Zoid Core. Normally Nanase only did this by authorization of either the Count or Commander Altiel, but this wasn't a normal situation. Still, she wasn't willing to risk it.  
  
* "Nanase." Nanase heard a familiar voice, that of Adrian Donovan. After she had "joined" the Backdraft he had sort of always looked out for her. Just the day before the Backdraft had changed her life forever. "Hey, look at me, kid." Nanase smiled at her friend's antics.  
  
"Right," he said, black eyes studying her once more. "I need you to concentrate. Just concentrate and think about-err-Zoids."  
  
"This has to do with what you did to me, doesn't it?" asked Nanase suspiciously. She didn't know how to refer to their little experiment.  
  
"Sure." Adrian's awkward smile left his face. "Remember, if we hadn't done that you'd likely be dead right now. So just comply and concentrate, okay? I need you to focus on that Zoid over there. Kind of."  
  
"Okay..." Nanase stared at the nearby Godos, trying hard to clear her mind of all thoughts except those of the Zoid. Nothing happened.  
  
"Any progress?" Commander Altiel walked up behind Adrian.  
  
"None." Adrian turned to him. "I can't do this anymore, Commander. This is just plain wrong. I mean, look at her. She'd be better off if we had let her die instead of changing her and forcing her to live..."  
  
"Enough, I won't have you talking like that. If it doesn't work then all our theories about organoids are wrong. You will keep trying until it works." Altiel turned and left the area.  
  
As soon as he was out of sight Adrian turned back to Nanase. "Listen, kid. I'm leaving the Backdraft. So if you ever decide to, look for Sephiroth and I'll help you out." *  
  
***  
  
Nanase smiled. At the time she hadn't understood any part of the conversation, but she did now. The Backdraft's little "experiment" had been a success. She was still alive, and to boot she could meld with Zoids. But she was stuck with the Backdraft; if she tried to leave they would just track her down. As their only human organoid she was too valuable an asset to lose. It was a good idea for Adrian to use a different name; the Backdraft would have a harder time finding him. Adrian, too, had been a valuable asset. He had been one of their best technicians and had even created a way to integrate a black organoid's strange abilities into the Zoids themselves. The first Shadow-type Zoid proven to work had been Altiel's; after that, the Shadow Fox, though no one was sure if it really worked, and then her own Zoid.  
  
***  
  
Sephiroth was finishing repairs on his Zoid. Back when he had been in the Backdraft he had been their best engineer and mechanic. Fixing Zoids had always been an easy task. Piloting them was much harder.  
  
Adrian; how he hated that name. It was a symbol of all the horrible things he had past done. From rigging Zoids with explosives (by order of his superiors, of course) to helping raid supply bases or factories, Adrian was not a guy you would like to get to know. That was all in Sephiroth's past now, and he regretted ever joining the Backdraft. They had used his skills against everything he had used to believe in. Adrian was no more; now he was just Sephiroth, the coward of a Zoid warrior with a cool name.  
  
He sighed in thought of why he wasn't like that any more. After the Backdraft had taken in Nanase, he had come to realize something. Not everyone was like him. The last regrettable thing he had ever done was comply with the Backdraft to take everything they had learned about organoids and use it to "create" the perfect Zoid pilot. He didn't know if it had worked, and he hoped that it hadn't. Nanase had been a sweet little girl, and he would have hated to see her die, but being a human organoid was worse than that. He no longer wanted anything to do with the Backdraft after seeing what he had done to her.  
  
*Adrian...*  
  
Sephiroth almost fell off of his Zaber Fang in surprise. He looked down to see Sylvia, the girl who had appeared at the Blitz team's little party. "Please don't call me that," he muttered. Now was definitely not a good time.  
  
Sylvia nodded. *Fine, Sephiroth. As you can see, I know who you really are.*  
  
"I don't see how you could." Sephiroth jumped down off of his Zoid. "You were never part of the Backdraft."  
  
*Being like this has its advantages and disadvantages, as I'd rather not know who you are.* Sephiroth noticed that she was about his age. *But right now it's a good thing. I have a feeling that you can help me.*  
  
"And what if I don't feel like it?" asked Sephiroth. "I'd rather not, unless you tell me everything."  
  
*Everything? As in...?*  
  
He smirked. "As in how you know everything about everyone, why you want Bit to face his past, and probably me, too."  
  
***  
  
Vega woke up to find himself laying in a hospital bed, though he could tell that he wasn't hurt in any way. Yes, Shadow had literally gone straight through him, but only to obtain any information Vega had that he needed, not to hurt him. Shadow had been stuck inside of the Fury for a very long time; and obviously he had been waiting for someone's presence to come out. From what Nanase had said, Vega understood everything now.  
  
By doing that to Vega, Shadow had made a big mistake. Now Vega knew any plans he had already made. The organoid was smarter then he let on. He had been waiting for the presence of one of the descendants of Van Flyheight-then Nanase must have been one. But Vega didn't think he had been waiting specifically for Nanase. He simply wanted to control her Zoid, so he had a better chance of defeating all of his enemies. There was someone else....  
  
...could it be Bit? Was Vega finally solving the mystery of his friends' pasts? 


	6. Too Small to be Dangerous?

Chapter VI: Too Small to be Dangerous?  
  
"Count!" said Commander Altiel as he entered the spacey room in his Whale King. "I didn't know that you were in here-"  
  
The Count looked down through a large observatory window, watching as a strange, mostly pink Zoid fought many smaller, weaker Zabats. "You have failed me again, haven't you?"  
  
"No, Count!" cried Altiel. "I sent Nanase out to retrieve the organoid, and I haven't heard from her since. I-"  
  
"Enough." The Count sighed and then winced as the Zoid below finished off the last of the Zabats. "This is a very important alliance. You remember our deal with her-we find Shadow, she destroys the Blitz team, and then she gets to keep Shadow and support the Backdraft. The Committee of Seven is not pleased with your petty efforts."  
  
"But Count, who is she?"  
  
"She wishes to keep her name secret." The Count watched as the Zoid flew up in front of the window, paused a moment, then continued its upward journey. "Our client comes from a very respected family and would not like to be discovered."  
  
"How can we be sure that she is able to destroy the Blitz team?"  
  
The Count pushed a few buttons on the keyboard before him, and then a screen popped up showing the Zoid fighting with several Storm Sworders. "This is nothing compared to what she can really do. At the moment she is controlling her Zoid only by voice commands, and you know how difficult that is to do. Now, watch this." He pressed some more buttons and both the Whale King and the Zoid landed on the ground. In a moment he deployed three large Zoids, which were about the same height as the client's Zoid- Gojulases.  
  
They moved in on the Zoid in a delta formation as it took up a fighting stance. Altiel finally got a good and detailed look at the pink and white Zoid. It was like no Zoid he had ever seen before. It was a bipedal Zoid, shaped much like a human but very octagonal, with four identical wings like a dragonfly. Altiel could see no weapons, except two particle intake fans located on the back of its shoulders. "Sir, what is this Zoid called?!"  
  
"Frankly, I never thought to ask. You'll have to ask the pilot herself." A few seconds later a comlink popped up in front them.  
  
"Count!" an exasperated Altiel shouted. "But, she's only a mere child!!!"  
  
Indeed, the pilot was barely ten years old. She had pink hair done up in pigtails, the same pink eyes, and was wearing a simple corresponding pink dress.  
  
"Seriously, you must be joking! This girl is too small to be dangerous."  
  
"Think again, Mr. Altiel." The girl smirked as her Zoid flew up into the air. Its arms extended, palms out, pointed at the three Gojulases. In about ten seconds two charged particle beams fired from its hands, completely wiping out the Zoids and leaving a large crater.  
  
"Thankfully those Zoids had no pilots," sighed the Count. "I would hate to lose any more pilots, especially after many were arrested following the Royal Cup. I really hated to lose the Zoids, too, but they were getting old and would probably break down... Obviously you've noticed the power of a charged particle cannon, which is the main weapon she intends on using against the Blitz team."  
  
Altiel stood gaping at the power of the charged particle cannons. "Normally it takes fifteen seconds to charge with a Zoid that size! For a Zoid to have TWO cannons, and no other apparent weapons..."  
  
***  
  
"Right, Sylv, just a few more adjustments and we're good to go." Sephiroth grabbed a wrench and began tightening the bolts on the huge silver gun that was attached to the back of his Zaber Fang.  
  
*Hurry.* The Shadow turned and looked out of the hangar. *Bit's in trouble and I have to help him. If we don't do something the whole of Zi will be in danger.*  
  
"Whatever," muttered Sephiroth. "That should do it." He climbed into the cockpit and flipped some switches. "I really hate to put that thing on the Zaber Fang, but it could do a lot of good. You ready?"  
  
Sylvia nodded. *Don't blame yourself if it doesn't work.*  
  
Sephiroth grinned. "Don't worry. I will. Here goes nothing."  
  
***  
  
Leena was chasing Bit through the base, threatening him as they went.  
  
"I'm glad they're not showing much affection for each other anymore," said Brad as they ran past. "Frankly, it was very strange."  
  
"I agree." Jamie walked into the room. "So, you wanna play chess?"  
  
"Well, Bit, I guess it's just a donut." Leena stopped right behind Bit and sighed.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No way!" With that the chase resumed in the hangar. On the horizon a huge funnel of light shot into the sky. "What the-?!" asked Leena, stopping her chase again. In a moment the light receded, but Bit continued to watch in awe. Leena took advantage of this, grabbing for the donut.  
  
"Ahhh!" yelled Bit in surprise. "I'm going for a run with Liger!" he announced to the world, waving the doughnut in front of her face for a moment. Then Bit climbed into Liger Zero's cockpit and they ran off.  
  
"No fair!" shouted Leena. "I'm coming after you, Bit!!!" She climbed up into her Gun Sniper and took off after Bit and the Liger.  
  
***  
  
"I didn't expect such a big illumination..." Sephiroth opened his eyes to see that the light had stopped. "So, Sylv, did it work... Sylv?! Where'd you-"  
  
"Right behind you!" said Sylvia, smiling from the co-pilot seat in Sephiroth's Zaber Fang.  
  
"Ahh! How'd you get there?"  
  
"Never mind that... it definitely worked."  
  
The two jumped down out of Sephiroth's Zoid, and he reached out to touch Sylvia's cheek. "Ha! I am SUCH a mechanical genius."  
  
"Flattering yourself won't do much good," said Sylvia, sweat-dropping.  
  
"He he... Ack! Oh, that's just you, Twilight. Guess it worked on the organoid, too."  
  
Sylvia patted her black partner lovingly. "Of course it did. I need to use your Zaber Fang, but you probably won't see it again..."  
  
"Suicide mission to save Bit from certain peril so he in turn can save Zi from certain peril?" asked Sephiroth.  
  
"...yeah."  
  
"You're not going alone. I'm not standing in my own shadow any more."  
  
***  
  
Nanase sighed as she watched the Liger Zero and a highly modified Gun Sniper run out of a hangar. The Shadow Fury followed stealthily behind them. When they were a good distance away from the base all three Zoids started to slow down. Were they in for a big surprise...  
  
"Hahahahaha, I've got you now, Bit!" yelled Leena as she closed in on the Liger Zero.  
  
Liger turned around, prepared to fight. "Leena!" shouted Bit. "Look out behind you!"  
  
"You can't fool me!" replied Leena. "Wild Weasel Unit Total-Ahh!" Unfortunately for her, Bit had been telling the truth. Before she could pull the trigger the Shadow Fury appeared behind her, activated its twin blades, and cut off her Wild Weasel Unit. "Not again..." muttered Leena as her command system froze. "Was that what I think it was?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no." Bit winced at the thought of what the Berserk Fury had done at the Royal Cup. And now, here was another Zoid just like it, except that it was totally black. "Okay, mister, who do you think you are?"  
  
"Actually, I don't know who I am at the moment, but I'm not controlling this Zoid." Nanase knew that the radio systems probably wouldn't work, but she could only hope. "And if you value your life it would likely be a good idea to get out of here before Shadow decides to inflict some serious damage."  
  
"Sounds like your 'mister' is a girl, Bit," smirked Leena.  
  
"Yeah, well... I can't leave because you're stuck here."  
  
"You can hear me?" asked Nanase. "That's good, but I don't think Shadow wants your friend. If you want to protect her, your best bet is to run. Hopefully he'll go after you, not finish off whoever's in that Gun Sniper."  
  
"Who are you and why are you trying to help us?" asked Bit, Liger dodging a swipe from the Fury's blades.  
  
"If you have to know, I'm with the Backdraft. Shadow's already hurt my friend Vega and I don't want him to hurt anyone else."  
  
"Vega?!" asked Leena. "Shadow?"  
  
"Shadow is a black organoid," murmured Bit. "At least I have a feeling that he is."  
  
Nanase nodded. "Correct. But I have to warn you, if Shadow transforms there's no way you can survive. Shadow mode-"  
  
"I know what Shadow mode is." Liger growled and jumped at the Fury, performing Strike Laser Claw. The Fury jumped backwards to avoid the attack. "And I have a feeling that this Shadow wants a challenge."  
  
"Or, he could just want a better Zoid that can bring out his full potential."  
  
Both Zoids paused in their fight and looked around. "Who was that?!" asked Bit.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I'm too small to be dangerous!" the voice said mockingly. "I'm sure you'll come around, Shadow. That Zoid you're in is so incredibly weak. Wouldn't you like to defeat your enemies with style?"  
  
Shadow flew out of the Fury. He looked up and around to see who and what thought he needed a better Zoid. With a growl Shadow spread two dragon- like wings and flew up, stopping in front of a large pink Zoid.  
  
"What the heck is that?!" asked Bit, looking up at it. "And who would want a PINK Zoid?"  
  
"Amateurs," taunted the voice. "You must remember... Pink makes everything better. Ready to play?"  
  
"I hope she means fight..."said Leena.  
  
"That Zoid is huge!" shouted Nanase. She shoved her controls forward and the Shadow Fury ran up next to Liger. "Yes, I'm back online! I'll fight that thing if you do!" Nanase activated a comlink in order to see her new comrade. "Just hope that Shadow doesn't decide to help her..."  
  
"Have fun without me," moaned Leena. "It doesn't look like that thing has any weapons. I'll make myself useful and run a scan with the equipment that's still intact and working."  
  
"Don't bother." The Zoid flew down and landed. "I'll make this short and sweet. Normally I play with my opponents for a while and show off my skill, but today I'll make an exception."  
  
"Lessee..." Leena looked over the readouts in front of her. "Ahh! That thing has two charged particle cannons! Look out, you guys!"  
  
Before they could react, hidden missiles located at the Zoid's shoulders popped out and fired, disabling both Zoids, pummeling the Gun Sniper, and knocking all three pilots out.  
  
"Too easy," said the pilot cheerily. "Time to deliver the final blow! So you see, Shadow, even the Liger Zero can't come close to defeating MY Zoid." The pink Zoid jumped backwards, away from the wrecked Zoids, and extended one of its arms, palm out. The noise of charged particles gathering followed. "Ten seconds left for them to live, and they don't even know it. Oh well."  
  
Ten...  
  
"Here comes the cavalry!" A familiar bright-yellow Zaber Fang came charging at her. It jumped at the strange Zoid, grabbing onto its hand with strong durasteel teeth.  
  
Nine...  
  
"Wha--?!" yelled the pilot. "Who on Zi is stupid enough to do that?!"  
  
Eight...  
  
The Zoid attempted to shake Sephiroth's Zaber Fang, but had no such luck.  
  
Seven...  
  
"Apparently we are." Sephiroth grinned. "Okay, Sylv, looks like we better do this before she can finish charging that cannon."  
  
"Right!" agreed Sylvia.  
  
Six...  
  
"Goodbye, world! Ja ne! It was nice knowing you!" yelled Sylvia as she flipped a panel on the controls in front of her and pushed down an overly large red button.  
  
Five...  
  
Nothing happened, and the pair was speechless.  
  
Four...  
  
"I thought you were a mechanical genius, Sephiroth!" yelled Sylvia.  
  
"I've rigged Zoids with explosives hundreds of times and it's always worked..."  
  
Three...  
  
"What's wrong with it?!"  
  
"This is definitely not good!" Sephiroth was furiously punching at the eject button. "That's the last time I buy a used Zoid!"  
  
Two...  
  
"Looks like this isn't going to work. If we can't blow its charged particle cannons off, then Bit and friends have an even smaller chance of destroying this thing... Not that it's the real threat, anyways."  
  
One...  
  
"Ungh..." Nanase's eyelids fluttered open and she looked over at the bipedal Zoid, a Zaber Fang hanging onto its hand by the teeth. "Adrian... Adrian! Don't be a hero!"  
  
Zero.  
  
Nanase's words went unheard as the charged particle cannon fired a blinding beam of light.  
  
***  
  
The pink-haired girl and her Zoid are both influenced by the fact that when I was writing this, my brother was usually behind me playing Xenogears by Squaresoft. She is inspired by Seraphita, one of the Elements, and her Zoid is a mixture of Grahf and Elly's Gears. Think Gundam. 


	7. In the Depths of Zi

Chapter VII: In the Depths of Zi  
  
Note: All incomprehensible dialogue is in Quenya, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's made-up High Elven language. If you want to know what anything says simply search for a website with translations. When I originally wrote this I was using a pretty not-so-good site for the words so it's not Quenyan grammar and makes no sense anyways with lots of repetitiveness.  
  
***  
  
Bit woke up to find himself in a dim, musty place. He groaned and lifted a hand to his head, but swiftly regretted doing so as pain shot through his stiff arm, blood flowing again.  
  
"Ai! Eä cuivië! Colla ëa Elenion Ancalima."  
  
The sixteen ear old looked around to see Leena sitting faithfully by him, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Bit!" she cried. "You're okay!"  
  
"Leena," murmured Bit. "Where are we? Where's that other girl? What happened?!"  
  
"Shush," replied Leena. "I don't know any of the answers to your questions. Sorry. All I know is that we're supposed to be resting, and that the people here don't speak our language... As far as I can tell it's been about three days since our encounter with that huge Zoid."  
  
"Ugh," muttered Bit. "From now on, pink is my least favorite color."  
  
Bit looked around again to see that they were in some sort of cave, lit by several torches. The entrance was covered by a strange curtain, and he was laying on some sort of cot.  
  
The curtain was pushed aside as a girl with blond hair and green eyes entered the room. She looked odd, dressed in a strange attire and her face tattooed with a thick red line across her left cheek.  
  
"Who the-?!" asked Bit, sitting up quickly.  
  
"Get back down." She pushed him back into the laying position. "It's just me, the pilot of the Shadow Fury, remember? The women here took the liberty of making me look more like them, I suppose... Strange, huh?" Nanase smiled. "Ptolemy says that we'll be able to go back above ground any day now."  
  
"Ptolemy?" asked Bit. "Where are we, what happened, what's with the tattoo, and who are you?"  
  
"Ptolemy is just about the only person here who can speak our language. We're far below the surface, in a series of caverns. It's a little village that doesn't know the war is over yet..."  
  
"War? There hasn't been a war for a very, VERY long time."  
  
"There might be one soon if we don't get out of here as soon as possible. I've told you before, I don't know who I am, and this tattoo is a symbol of what family I belong to. They seem to know but not even Ptolemy can translate the family name. As for what happened... I..." Nanase couldn't take it any longer. She broke down. "Adrian... Why did it have to end that way?!"  
  
"Leena, who's Adrian?"  
  
"I asked her what happened when I first woke up, but she couldn't bring herself to answer. Something about Adrian... and then she muttered something about Sephiroth, then Vega..." Leena sighed in despair. "Poor thing. It's too bad."  
  
"Why, Sephiroth? Why be a hero?!"  
  
"Okay, just calm down, will you?"  
  
"I don't think you're helping, Bit."  
  
"Leena, I-"  
  
"Ai! Eä cuivië! Colla ëa Elenion Ancalima." Bit frowned with a nervous look as a girl, dressed like Nanase, stared him in the face and came a little bit too close.  
  
"Elendil Elen! Entuluva Elenion Ancalima!" she yelled with lots of energy.  
  
Bit sweat-dropped. "Would you mind backing off? What on Zi is she saying?"  
  
"She said, 'Brightest of Stars shall come again!' or something strange like that... I suppose that Elen-star-has become her little nickname for you."  
  
Bit looked at the girl once more. She had long black hair with a thick white streak in it, and reddish brown eyes. The family tattoo positioned on her forehead was a series of red and green triangles and her skin was very pale. Behind her stood an older man, who looked nothing like her with short bluish-gray hair and light green eyes, the man who had translated.  
  
"My name is Ptolemy. Ugh... I hate that name. Anyways, welcome to our humble abode. The people that live here are very superstitious, not to mention suspicious. It was not easy to convince them to lodge you for a short time, until you've healed. My silly friend here is named Ehtelë, which means 'spring' in their language. Not the season, mind you, but like a stream, because she loves water and always sort of flows with the crowd. On the decision to help you, she almost decided not to, but you should thank her because she cast the last vote."  
  
"Thanks, Eht- err, Spring." Bit smiled at their newfound friend.  
  
"Spring!" shouted Ehtelë at mention of her name.  
  
"I've been trying to teach her our language, but she doesn't seem to have a very large attention span. The children here are carefree and very simpleminded, not to mention repetitive," laughed Ptolemy.  
  
"Hiya!" cried Spring happily.  
  
"At least she has that much down," giggled Leena. The rest of the gang joined in laughter as Spring plopped herself down in the middle of them, confused.  
  
***  
  
Commander Altiel walked through the Whale King's hangar, stopping in front of their client's Zoid. He looked up at the damage it had sustained. Apparently a Zaber Fang had locked onto its right hand by the teeth while it was charging and when the charged particle cannon fired it had blown the Zoid's whole hand off because of the nuisance. Thankfully, as a result the Zaber Fang was completely destroyed and would no longer be able to get in the way.  
  
Altiel looked on in awe as its pilot yelled at several different mechanics. "Ya know, if that Adrian guy was still with the Backdraft this would have been fixed days ago! Three whole days and no progress! Stop calling me 'little girl,' my name is Eira, so there!"  
  
He could have sworn that he saw a pair of people watching just like he was, but grinning a little bit too much; a girl with red hair and a guy who looked suspiciously like Adrian, but when he blinked, they were gone.  
  
***  
  
"So Ptolemy, do you know what happened to us?" asked Leena as the little group sat down to eat.  
  
"Zaber Fang..." said Spring, a little quieter.  
  
"Fárëa," said Ptolemy, ruffling her hair. Spring looked very pleased with herself as she sat down next to him.  
  
"Zaber Fang? Oh, Adrian..." Nanase stood up but Leena pulled her back down.  
  
"Listen, we need to know what happened if we want to do anything," she said. "Now eat, okay?"  
  
Nanase nodded but didn't touch her food as the conversation continued.  
  
"Unfortunately for you, you're nowhere near where we found you," said Ptolemy. "Your Zoids were very mangled but nothing compared to the remains of a Zaber Fang we found nearby. We were able to salvage some parts from it, and we moved your Zoids into a cave nearby after pulling you three out. The area you were on was on top of an old mine, so it collapsed from the blast... Also, there was remains of another Zoid, but not the whole thing, just a hand, but mostly inside of the Zaber Fang's mouth, which was completely mutilated. After making sure you wouldn't die on us if we moved you, we brought you through a series of water-filled tunnels until we got to the main caverns... Actually, it was Ehtelë who found you in the first place. But anyways, I figure that the Zaber Fang attached itself to the other Zoids hand, though I don't know why. However, I have no clue as to anything else. The villagers agreed to help you heal and fix your Zoids, and after that you're on your own. It doesn't seem that you've sustained any major injuries, though..."  
  
"It was Adrian," cried Nanase. "Adrian and a friend of his. They were in the Zaber Fang and it clamped onto the Zoid's hand while it was charging its cannon. And then it fired..."  
  
"I wonder what Sephiroth would think of that?" Bit thought out loud.  
  
Nanase stood up. "You idiot, Adrian IS Sephiroth!" She turned away and started to cry.  
  
"Wow..." said Leena. "And to think I called him a coward..."  
  
"I'd call him an idiot..." began Bit. Leena glared. "But a rather courageous one," he added quickly.  
  
Ptolemy stood and put a comforting hand on Nanase's shoulder. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
"Don't be." Nanase pushed his hand off. "I never had any special feelings for Adrian. He was always a coward at heart and didn't think twice about killing someone. I can't believe this. He's the reason I'm what I am and I'm crying over his death?" Without looking back she ran out of the room. Spring was about to go after her, but Ptolemy held her back.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I think I'll go see how Liger is." Bit stood up and walked out.  
  
Ptolemy whispered something to Spring, and she nodded and ran after Bit.  
  
***  
  
Dr. Toros was playing with his Zoid models happily when Jamie came into the room.  
  
"Doc!" he said. "How can you be PLAYING at a time like this? Bit and Leena are missing."  
  
"I know," sighed Dr. Toros. "In fact, I'm trying to get my mind off of it..."  
  
The two heard a beeping noise and Dr. Toros pushed a button. A comlink appeared in front of them.  
  
"Is this thing on?" asked the little girl on the screen. "Oh, it is. Right. Oh yeah, hi. I thought you might like to know that you'll never be seeing your teammates, at least alive, again, or that girl, or the two in the Zaber Fang. You have three days left to live, so you better start writing your wills, Blitz team." The comlink disappeared and Brad came into the room.  
  
"What was that about?" asked Brad.  
  
"I have no idea." Dr. Toros dropped his model of the Death Stinger. "Ahh! Its tail!"  
  
Brad and Jamie sweat-dropped.  
  
***  
  
"Elen? Nanase oantë." Spring walked up behind Bit, who was staring in amazement at the Liger Zero's damages.  
  
"Huh?" asked Bit. "I can't understand a word you're saying."  
  
"Umm... Nanase... uh..." Spring tried to say the words in Bit's language.  
  
"Nanase?!" shouted Bit. "Did you say Nanase?"  
  
Spring cocked her head, unable to understand without Ptolemy there to translate. Then she smiled. "Elen Elda!"  
  
"Uh..." Bit looked confused so Spring stopped talking. "Let's try this again. Where's Nanase?"  
  
"Falmalinnar."  
  
"Answer in my language, will you?" Bit desperately tried to get Spring to make any amount of sense.  
  
Spring shook her head as if she partially understood. "Ehtelë avar," she said happily.  
  
Bit sighed and looked back at the Liger. "You okay, pal?" Liger roared softly and stood up awkwardly, shaking at first, and then steadying himself. He seemed to nod. "Good. Spring, I'm going after Nanase, okay? Can you tell me where she went?"  
  
Again Spring knew part of what Bit was saying, but didn't know how to respond in his language. "Nanase falmalinnar. Elen auta? Elen entuluva?"  
  
"Can't understand you. I'll come back, okay?"  
  
Spring grinned. "Elen elenillor. Nanase sindanóriello. Elen ar Nanase vanwa..."  
  
Bit grinned back at her. He had absolutely no idea what she was saying. "I'll find my way out somehow. Don't worry about me."  
  
***  
  
Leena woke up the next morning to find out from Ptolemy that both Bit and the blond girl were missing and had probably left. "Well, that was nice of them," she said sarcastically. "What do I do now?"  
  
"Well, the repairs on YOUR Zoid are far from done," replied Ptolemy. "It seems that Spring thinks Nanase is 'out of the gray land' and the Bit is 'of the stars.' It might have to do with an old legend here, but I don't know..."  
  
"Ptolemy, I just realized something." Leena stood up in triumph. "Earlier you referred to the language I speak as if it was your first language, but if you've lived here all your life..."  
  
"No, I was in a situation a bit like yours." Ptolemy grinned at the thought of it. "The people here sympathized for me and brought me here. I caught on to their language quickly, but sadly had no knowledge of where I came from."  
  
"That explains a lot."  
  
"Before you ask, I am not Spring's father," continued Ptolemy. "Her parents were killed by visiting outsiders when she was just a child, and that's part of the reason that the people here can be a little hostile to others. I've looked after her since then, so they wouldn't change their minds about letting me live here. Speaking of Spring, I haven't seen her since last night... oh well, she's probably looking for Bit and Nanase. She warmed up to both of them nicely."  
  
"Wait a sec- Nanase?!" asked Leena. "Who-?!"  
  
"Didn't you know?" Ptolemy frowned. "Nanase is the blond one, 'of the gray land.' She bears a strong resemblance to Bit, I think."  
  
"Really..." murmured Leena. "Nanase was Bit's mother's name..."  
  
***  
  
Bit jumped out of the Liger's cockpit and looked up at the sky, breathing in deeply. "Ah! Much better, I haven't seen the sky for too long!" he said. "It's a good thing I finally found the way out of there! Now, I just need to figure out where I am..."  
  
"Elen envinyanta?"  
  
"Ahh! Who-?! Spring!"  
  
Spring smiled as she climbed out of her Godos and ran up next to Bit. "Hi there!" she said with a wave.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" asked Bit. "Ptolemy will be very worried. You better go back."  
  
Spring shook her head and giggled. "Ehtelë avar!"  
  
Bit was bewildered. "Can you speak in English for once?!"  
  
"Okay!" yelled Spring.  
  
"...and you don't need to yell."  
  
"Ptolemy said to show you where your Zoid was, but he didn't say I couldn't follow you." Spring grinned.  
  
"I thought you couldn't speak much English?"  
  
"I can." Spring ran back to her Godos and climbed in. "But I prefer to keep you confused!" She smirked, closed the cockpit door, and then her Zoid ran off.  
  
Bit sighed. "I guess I should look after her before she gets into any trouble."  
  
***  
  
"Doc, I need to use the computer, I have an idea..."  
  
"Go use Leena's computer, Jamie!"  
  
Jamie sighed and walked into Leena's room. At least she wasn't there to yell at him. He needed to see if the global positioning system he had installed on the Liger was still working-if so, they had a good chance of finding Bit and Leena. If they were still alive, that is. 


	8. Three Ancient Zoidians

Chapter VIII: Three Ancient Zoidians  
  
"There's nothing left for me on Zi," Nanase said to herself, looking at the ruins surrounding her. "This is the first place I remember being in. That was when the Backdraft found me. I wonder who did this in the first place..."  
  
She knelt down and smiled. "Adrian always said that he'd help me figure out who I was, and now that he's gone, this is the only thing left to help me." Nanase pulled out her locket and let it dangle for a moment. "But I don't want to learn about my past anymore. I don't need to." She dropped it and stood back up. "The only thing that matters now is that I get my revenge on the Backdraft. I... why am I saying that?!"  
  
"Because it's the truth." A taunting voice rang out clearly, leaving a dangerous aura. "Humans are obsolete. They were never meant to colonize Zi, not when there were already inhabitants here. You know that. And therefore you must destroy the humans."  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing to me?!"  
  
"You don't need to know that. The important thing is that you're not a human. You're an organoid. And an organoid's purpose is to evolve Zoids, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it... No! Stop it, that isn't true!" Nanase looked around franticly for the owner of the voice but only noticed a black organoid. But it wasn't Shadow... it was... Twilight? Next to Twilight a man appeared. He wasn't much older than Bit with horrible empty-looking green eyes and (yet spunky) short minty green hair. "I don't see how Sylvia acquired my organoid but now that I'm back in control of it..." he started.  
  
"You're an ancient Zoidian, aren't you?"  
  
"Neos, you're doing it all wrong." On both sides of him two others seemed to appear, but to Nanase's surprise, they were just holograms. One was a woman with short deep purple hair with long bangs and corresponding purple eyes. On the other side, a man with long white hair in a loose ponytail, and, of course, corresponding silver eyes.  
  
"Just go ahead and do it. No explanation is needed, you dolt. Hurry up, before Eira gets the stupid idea of finding and fighting us again," continued the woman.  
  
"Akira..." muttered Neos irritably. *Why do I have to have partners in this, anyways? I could do it fine by myself...*  
  
"Don't forget that we can hear you do that, most of the time, at least," said the man mockingly. "The last time you tried to do something like this it didn't work, remember Van? The rest of us weren't that happy."  
  
Neos clenched his hand into a fist. "Just shut up, Hitoshi," he muttered. "Right... Twilight, you know what to do. And it'll work this time, you two, so stop nagging me. Van was a hero, and he had something to live for. SHE doesn't."  
  
Twilight growled and walked towards Nanase.  
  
"Okay, that's not good!" said Nanase. She drew a gun that was strapped to one of her boots and started to shoot at Twilight, with no effect. Soon she was out of ammo, threw the gun at the organoid, and watched helplessly as Twilight advanced. "Twilight-Sylvia was the girl who was in that Zaber Fang, wasn't she? Wasn't she?!"  
  
Twilight faltered for a moment and looked back to Neos. With a reassuring nod from his master, Twilight resumed her slow approach. Nanase screamed as she activated boosters on her back and came charging at her as a ball of gray light.  
  
***  
  
"C'mon, Liger, can't you keep up with a stupid Godos?" yelled Bit as the Liger Zero tried to catch up to Spring's Zoid. He was still damaged from their extremely short fight with Eira.  
  
"Stop!" cried Spring, and Liger gratefully did as he was told. "Did you hear that?!"  
  
"Good, you're talking in English again."  
  
"Shut up and listen."  
  
Bit listened carefully. All he could here was the birds singing happily- but then the melody stopped and a flock of birds flew out of the few trees nearby. "Spring, I don't hear-"  
  
"Wait," whispered Spring. In a few moments she heard it again-a scream.  
  
"Okay, Liger," said Bit. "Rest time is over. Let's go!" Liger growled in annoyance but once again did as he was told. One bound over the trees and Bit saw the ruins of the village he used to live in-the Wind Colony.  
  
And there, in the middle of the ruins, stood three very strange looking people. Laying on the ground in front of them was none other than Nanase.  
  
"You're too late to save her now," said a guy with green hair smugly as Nanase struggled to get up. "And unfortunately for you you'll never see your sister again..."  
  
"I've known that for a long time now," answered Bit as Spring's Godos came around the edge of the small forest. "My sister died a long time ago in this village."  
  
"Wrong," said Neos, laughing. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have some business to do, so Nanase-as you call her-will take care of you for me." With that the three disappeared.  
  
Nanase stood up and Bit noticed that something was different about her. He didn't know what, but it was just something that reminded him of those three...  
  
Those eyes were so empty now. So lonely, so helpless. He couldn't help but to pity her. 


	9. Ultimate X, part 1

Chapter IX: Ultimate X  
  
Neos walked through the streets of Guyglos. As usual no one noticed him specifically, he was just another person in the crowd. Ha! Soon all of them would know exactly who and what he was, and they would all cower at the mention of his name.  
  
Of course, he knew that none of this would ever be true. Maybe for Akira and Hitoshi, but not Neos, he was just their pawn, like that annoying little girl. There was nothing he could do about it.  
  
"Neos!"  
  
Neos sweat-dropped and looked down to see Eira. She was always trying to prove that she was a strong Zoid pilot, but that was not the case. Compared to others, such as Akira, she was a mere weakling. The only reason she had been able to defeat Bit Cloud and the Liger Zero was because of what money could buy, and money could buy completely customized Zoids that were almost unstoppable.  
  
"Listen, little Miss Champ, go play somewhere else, will you?" He sighed, knowing that it was useless to argue with a member of the Champ family. They were so used to getting their way, the brats...  
  
"I'm not playing, you dolt. You have such a thick skull..."  
  
"Insults will get you nowhere."  
  
"I'm going to fight you right here and right now, no matter what you say! I can defeat you, I defeated the Ultimate X, didn't I?"  
  
"Fool... No, you didn't. The Liger Zero is still out there, and it's not THE Ultimate X. Don't you get it? There's only one. The term is used too broadly. Maybe the Liger Zero is an X-type Zoid, permanently bonded with an organoid, but it isn't the ultimate one."  
  
"I don't care, I'm fighting you here and now," replied Eira Champ, glaring. "Shadow has a score to settle with you, don't you, Shadow?"  
  
"Grr..." Shadow flew down beside her.  
  
"Fine. If I must, then so be it. You're getting very annoying, you know, so it's about time I got you out of my way. That little organoid won't help you much against my Zoid... this should be a considerably short battle." Neos smirked. Victory would come very soon.  
  
***  
  
"Nanase, why are you doing this?" shouted Bit as Liger charged at the Shadow Fury. Somehow, Nanase had been able to fuse with it, like an organoid, and was now fighting Liger for an unapparent reason.  
  
"The being you call Nanase, also known as Kylie Cloud, no longer exists among the living on this petty planet. Five years ago the Backdraft experimented on her dying self and changed her DNA, forcing the life form to live!!! However, their theories were very wrong; Zoids are not living beings like humans, they are artificial life forms. Therefore the human organoid Nanase is not a living being and has no emotions anyways..." The voice faded away as the Fury jumped over Liger and swiped at him with its twin blades. It was Nanase's voice, but something was different about it and Bit couldn't tell what. It was so empty now, even more so than it had already been. Why would she say something like that...?  
  
"Kylie..." murmured Bit. "Then Nanase is... That's not good, I can't fight her..."  
  
"Elen!" called Spring, a comlink popping up to Bit's left. "If you don't fight it the Fury will destroy you!"  
  
"I can't..."  
  
"Fine! If you won't fight, then I will!" Spring glared and her comlink disappeared. The Godos slowly advanced upon the Fury. Spring was no match for it but she didn't care. If Bit didn't stop Twilight then they were all doomed. The Ultimate X would never come without Bit, and then the world would be destroyed at the hands of the three Zoidians and their Zoids, as well as their accomplices... The little girl, though barely fourteen, knew exactly what was going on. Because Nanase was a human organoid Twilight had been able to bond with her, just like he could bond with a Zoid. He was controlling her as he would a Zoid. Shadow was no longer a factor in what Ehtelë had to do. Likely Shadow would be destroyed for good soon. Until Bit's guardian came back into the scene, there was nothing either could do but stall for more time.  
  
The Shadow Fury simply whacked Spring's Zoid away with its tail before she could get any closer.  
  
"Spring!" shouted Bit. He didn't care what happened to himself, but Spring was just an innocent little kid. At least he thought so. Now, he had no choice but to fight, even if he didn't want to fight his alleged sister. "Okay, that's enough! Liger- Huh?!"  
  
Before Bit or Liger could react the Shadow Fury swiped at Liger again...  
  
...and cut off one of Liger's legs... Liger went down. "What the-?!" shouted Bit.  
  
"Okay, I've had it!" yelled Ehtelë. "Redler!"  
  
Ehtelë ejected from her Zoid and a Redler came swooping down underneath her, the cockpit door open. The girl unstrapped herself and fell off of the ejected seat, straight into the new Zoid as the cockpit door closed.  
  
"That was a neat trick..." muttered Bit quietly. What was going on?  
  
The Redler flew down low and fired at Shadow Fury, taking it by surprise. Ehtelë immediately pulled her Zoid up to avoid running into it. As she was doing this the Fury roared with anger and jumped up, cutting off the Redler's wings. "Wha-?!!" shouted Spring. "How did it do that?! Another Zoid destroyed... Ptolemy won't be happy with me..."  
  
Fifteen...  
  
"I owe you an explanation, Bit Cloud," murmured Ehtelë as the Shadow Fury pointed itself at Liger and began to charge its particle cannon. "It was all a lie... There is no village... And we didn't just find you guys... We were waiting for you..."  
  
Fourteen...  
  
Bit frowned. He still had no idea what was going on. "The end is over," he muttered. "I never thought it would be quite like this..."  
  
Thirteen...  
  
"The end isn't over, it's only the beginning!"  
  
***  
  
"Ready, little girl?" asked Neos from the pilot of his Zoid, which was standing in the middle of Guyglos. He looked around. It was such a big city, what a waste... "Or do you want to move to a different location?"  
  
Eira looked at the Zoid before her. It was very strange, and might as well be stronger than hers. If they fought here, the whole city could be destroyed. But it wasn't as if she cared. A city could always be rebuilt. And so could a reputation, no matter how big or insignificant.  
  
***  
  
Five...  
  
"Who-?!" shouted Bit, looking around.  
  
Four...  
  
"We're back and nothing can stop us now!" came the voice again.  
  
Three...  
  
"That's right. Okay, nobody's going to destroy the future Ultimate X. Twilight! Stop this!" Another voice joined the first.  
  
Two...  
  
A light flew out of the Shadow Fury, landing far away to reveal Twilight, and suddenly Nanase was in control of herself again.  
  
One...  
  
"Bit?!" she said. "Then I'm...?! NO!!!"  
  
Zero.  
  
"An organoid's purpose..." she mumbled, then nodded her head at the thought. Another light flew out of the Fury and straight into Liger just before the charged particle beam collided with him. 


	10. Ultimate X, part 2

Chapter X: Ultimate X, part two  
  
"...is to evolve Zoids!" finished Nanase, melding with Liger just before the charged particle beam hit him.  
  
*"Zeke... Zeke, where are you?" called Kylie as she searched through the little house. "Don't go away just like the Liger Zero did!" The little girl didn't fully understand the concept that stuffed animals aren't real yet. "Zeke-!" The house shook and she screamed.*  
  
"Zeke... you're here, aren't you? The real Zeke?"  
  
A growl answered, confirming her question.  
  
*Kylie opened the door and peeked outside. "Daddy?" she asked as she watched three Gun Snipers and a Gun Blaster mercilessly destroying Dan Cloud's red Shield Liger. Ligers had always been the favorite type of Zoid in the family.*  
  
"I've finally found you; once again you're here to help me, aren't you?"  
  
Growl.  
  
*"Please... please stop it!" murmured Kylie as she watched helplessly. "Stop... stop it... STOP!"*  
  
"I didn't know what I could do back then... Or I couldn't do it. I... could've saved Dad..."  
  
*She looked on in horror at the pulverized Shield Liger as another Zoid started to fight the Zoids that were attacking the village when suddenly the Gun Snipers fired at the Wind Colony and it caught on fire. A purple Rev Raptor roared and ran forward, using its two scythe blades two take down the Gun Snipers.  
  
"Twilight!" yelled whoever the pilot was, and Kylie caught a glance of a little black Zoid, much like her stuffed Zeke, before it transformed into a grayish light and flew into the Rev Raptor. The Raptor's shadow came up around it and consumed the Zoid. Strangely Kylie could see straight through it as it fired at the Gun Blaster.*  
  
"If only I had remembered that day with the Liger Zero..."  
  
A growl of agreement.  
  
*The Gun Blaster's shadow did the same thing and with one blow from all of its guns at once the black Rev Raptor was completely destroyed and slowly started to fade away.*  
  
Nanase grinned. "Sylvia would have led a normal life..."  
  
*With that the Gun Blaster continued to fire at the village. "No," muttered Kylie. "You can't destroy this village and hurt all my friends and family... I won't let you..."*  
  
"If only."  
  
*"Grr." Kylie turned around and looked at the Zoid before her. "Grr?"  
  
"You-you're here to help me, aren't you?" asked Kylie, staring at him awkwardly.  
  
"Grr."  
  
"You're Zeke, aren't you?"  
  
It nodded.  
  
"I'm only ten, but that's NOT going to stop me from utterly DESTROYING that Zoid! I know that somewhere in this village at least Bit's still alive, and I won't let someone hurt my onii-san! He's looked after me all my life, so now it's my turn to look after him." Kylie smiled at Zeke and he activated the boosters on his back. A strange blue bubble extended from him and engulfed both of them as Zeke transformed into a white light and flew a short distance away. Kylie heard a roar and opened her eyes to see that she was in the cockpit of a very familiar Zoid she had seen before...*  
  
"That's where I saw the Liger Zero before... and then you helped me try to save the village. And that's where I remember that... Zoid, the Gun Blaster. Commander Altiel."  
  
*"Liger Zero..." she murmured. "You're going to help me destroy that Gun Blaster..."*  
  
Nanase blinked a few times in reminiscence. "I... can't go off in my mind like that right now. Remembering who I am is great, but I need to help my onii-san..."  
  
***  
  
Dust followed the charged particle beam, preventing anyone from seeing what happened. "Oh well, so we were too late. Too bad for Bit, but at least WE'RE still alive."  
  
"Shut UP, Sephiroth..."  
  
"I was joking, Sylv, look."  
  
"You're so immature."  
  
"Yeah, I know, don't rub it in."  
  
"You shouldn't be joking right now! Don't you care that Zi is in perpetual danger?!"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"And to think I actually LIKE you in the least bit."  
  
"Are you going to look or not? I thought maybe you'd be glad that your-! You're not listening, as always...!"  
  
That annoying dust cleared to show Liger still standing there, fully intact and undamaged.  
  
"Am I dreaming or did his leg just reattach?"  
  
"You're probably dreaming."  
  
He was significantly different from before. Liger was now black with blue armor and golden colored weapons. Not only that, but he had two blades just like the Blade Liger. The Zoid roared and deactivated the pink shield in front of him as the charged particle beam dissipated from sight.  
  
***  
  
Eira's eyes widened as Neos' Zoid ran a very long horn straight through hers, before she could move. "But how is that possible?" she shouted. "You just mobilized that Zoid, how could you defeat me this fast?"  
  
Neos was silent but smirked. The horse-like Zoid withdrew its horn and flew up into the air. As the pink mass below him imploded Neos answered her question. "It was simple, really. I'm a Zoidian and therefore I have a strong connection with my Zoid. All I had to do was destroy the Zoid Core. If you know your enemy's Zoid and its weaknesses you can destroy it as easily as snapping a twig. Thankfully that pitiful Zoid of yours isn't - wasn't- the Ultimate X; it would have been much harder for me."  
  
Suddenly he gasped. The Ultimate X had reawakened; he could tell. That was obvious. He was a Zoidian. They could feel things like this.  
  
And somewhere Akira and Hitoshi probably noticed the disturbance, too.  
  
***  
  
If I stay here I'll be having the worst years of my life. A life without Leena? That's not possible. However, if I leave, I won't have to put up with Mary, but I still won't be able to see Leena. And if I go home, then Mary will come, too, and that means no Leena, no Zoid battles, and having to put up with that sister of mine. Basically, any way I choose, Leena is ruled out...  
  
Harry pondered the ways he could get out of this mess as his robots argued about the best possible solution. Being himself he had made the mistake of letting them figure out what was wrong. Thankfully Mary was out on a long shopping spree, so she wouldn't be back for a while.  
  
"You idiotic bucket of bolts!" shouted Sebastian.  
  
"Well, you're just a low unintelligent TOASTER!"  
  
"Toaster? Now you've REALLY made me mad... that's why you're only a-darn. I've ran out of good insults."  
  
"Hmm, it seems that I have, too. Let us continue this argument when more insults have been invented!"  
  
"Good idea!"  
  
If Harry told Mary how he felt, she would give up and go home, but then he would have to live with the guilt of hurting her feelings and there was no way he could do that. Then... Harry's best bet would be to go off on his own, and to leave Mary and the robots with no idea where he was or why he went. It still meant no Leena, but maybe things were meant to be that way. Maybe-and hopefully this wasn't true in the least bit-ha, Bit-he would never be able to get Leena to love him, anyways. Perhaps he was doing himself a favor.  
  
Harry hoped, though it probably would never be true, that Leena would eventually miss him and want him to come back. He would have no way of knowing, but still, just thinking that maybe that was how she felt was better then knowing that she didn't care a thing about him.  
  
While Benjamin and Sebastian tried to think of more insults Harry slipped into the hangar and mobilized his Dark Horn. They were in good hands with Mary. Kind of. Even with Harry gone, she would probably still stay there for the summer and continue with the Champ team's Zoid battles. Who knows; maybe she would decide to stay there permanently? Eventually Harry could work up the courage to tell her everything. But until then, he would just disappear like a shadow. That idea suited him well. No one had to know where he was going. The ZBC wouldn't mind having another person to work for them. Not that Harry needed to work, of course. But he would when he ran out of money. He didn't want to come running home because he's broke. 


	11. The Zoidian Guild

Chapter XI: The Zoidian Guild  
  
"Zeke..." Kylie paused and smiled. "I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks... again."  
  
With that the wonderful green field of memories and Zeke disappeared from her sight; and Kylie found herself standing just in front of the new Liger.  
  
"Oh wow!" said Sylvia, jumping out of a Wardick emerged in the ground and staring up at Liger with that weird look in her eyes. "The Ultimate X! I never thought I would live to see it!"  
  
"Ultimate X?" asked Bit, jumping out of Liger's cockpit. He turned to stare at him, watching Kylie walk back into the Wind Colony's ruins out of the corner of his eye. "Kylie... What are you doing?"  
  
"Looking for something. Some things."  
  
***  
  
Jamie frowned and called for Dr. Toros, who came into Leena's room looking especially happy. "HA! Whoever-it-was was wrong, we have more than three days to live, because nothing happened and it's the third day! And to think I actually went to the trouble of writing a will!"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Jamie clicked on a shortcut and opened his global positioning program. "You know, Doc, you either need to stop using the main computer all day to buy Zoid model kits off the internet, or link all the computers together in a network. It took forever for me to get this program onto Leena's computer, and she's gonna kill me if she ever finds out about me using it..."  
  
"So, any progress, Jamie?" asked Dr. Toros, trying to change the subject. He had just ordered a few more expensive Zoids than usual... using money from Bit's account, since he wasn't there... Might as well keep quiet about it and 'forget.'  
  
"I think I'm picking something up," answered Jamie, rapidly typing on Leena's keyboard. "Far south... Wait, no, right here! Bit must have come back!"  
  
"Really? I wasn't aware of this."  
  
"That's what the radar says..."  
  
"Uh oh."  
  
"WHAT?!!"  
  
"Sorry, Jamie, but all your efforts have been wasted. I only got around to installing the program on Liger's conversion armor, and I never got a chance to put it on the normal armor."  
  
"Ahh!" Jamie fell over in his chair and moaned. He went to all that trouble for nothing? Liger Zero was in its normal armor when Bit left to get away from Leena. "That's not good..." mumbled Jamie. He glared at the Doc from on the floor.  
  
"Speaking of the conversion armor, why don't we go check on the CAS chamber? It might need upgraded or something." Dr. Toros walked off, not paying any attention to the fact that his strategist was very angry with him.  
  
Jamie mumbled something, got up, and followed Dr. Toros. At least he could have some fun tinkering with Liger's armor.  
  
***  
  
Kylie reached down and picked up the locket, smiling. She wasn't sure if it was hers; but she liked it anyways. All these memories coming at her at once was almost too much to bare. The fact that she had a family was wonderful, even if it was only her onii-san Bit Cloud. But the fact that she could've stopped Altiel and his Gun Blaster was already starting to tear her apart. And the fact that after that day she had been 'taken under his wing.' Not that Kylie had ever liked Commander Altiel, but now she hated him even more. She had only one question... had Adrian's forced experiment worked, or had she already been like this?  
  
"Err, Kylie?" Kylie didn't have to look up to recognize that voice. It belonged to, of course, Bit. He looked down and noticed the locket.  
  
*"Bit! Kylie!" called Nanase Cloud, waiting for her two children to come running. Kylie came first, followed shortly afterwards by her brother. Mrs. Cloud smiled and knelt down before them. "I have something for you!"  
  
Both turned and smiled at each other, then looked back to their mother. "I hope it's something cool," Bit whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Kylie nodded happily as she clutched her stuffed Zeke, even though she didn't care if the gift was cool or not. Just receiving a gift was fun!  
  
"Here, Kylie." Nanase handed her a locket. She turned to Bit. "Here's one for you, too."  
  
"Eww... this is girly stuff." Bit made a face but accepted his present anyways. Something was better than nothing.  
  
Nanase Cloud laughed at her son's antics. "I know, Bit, but someday you'll be glad I gave you this. Look inside." Bit opened his and looked at the family picture inside. Kylie was trying to open it from the wrong side, the side with the hinges on it. He almost laughed, remembering the happenings of the day they took that picture. "It's so you can remember your family one day when we're all gone, and things like that. If you get lost someday, you could show it to people and they could help you find your way back home," continued Nanase.  
  
Bit tried to smile, but the truth was, he was almost crying. He knew what his mom really meant. She was terminally ill and wouldn't last much longer. Nanase wanted her children to remember her after she died. She hadn't told Kylie, even though she was about to turn eight years old. Kylie would take it too hard, she was just like that. Bit had known for a while because he overheard a conversation between his parents. After a while they noticed that he was acting differently, and eventually he told them that he knew what was wrong. They were only trying to protect Kylie, but if Nanase just suddenly died, Kylie would be crushed. She would never expect something like that to happen.*  
  
"Mom died the next day. The day after she gave us these." Kylie said. And, of course, it was true. Nanase Cloud passed away the day after she gave her children the lockets. It was a good thing she had decided to on that day. Kylie had been so shocked that she couldn't even cry over her mother's death. Bit had cried, of course, but if he hadn't learned about her illness he would have been like Kylie. He wouldn't have been able to believe that his own mother had died. "But that's okay... I can't change the past. It was going to happen eventually. No one can live forever."  
  
"Yeah... I guess you're right."  
  
"Onii-san... When did you get Liger?" asked Kylie, changing the subject.  
  
Bit blinked a few times in surprise. Why was she asking something like that? "Not until about six months ago, when I joined the Blitz team. Why?"  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"Sorry to interrupt the brother/sister bonding, but you probably want to know exactly what's going on."  
  
Bit and Kylie turned around to see Ehtelë, Sephiroth, and Sylvia. "You know... you two are supposed to be dead." Bit smirked. He was glad that they weren't.  
  
"Yeah, well, nothing can keep us dead for very long," answered Sephiroth, cockily as always. "It's only the eleventh chapter. Who knows how long this story will be, you'll probably need our help!"  
  
"Huh?" asked Kylie. "Story? This is real life..."  
  
"Yeah, but somewhere else this will eventually be a story," continued Sephiroth. "And in that story about this time should be the eleventh chapter."  
  
"Okay..." said Ehtelë. "Whatever, you can debate that later. As you said, they probably want to know what's going on."  
  
"Not that I know very much, myself."  
  
"Don't forget to tell us why Sylvia's not a Shadow anymore..." put in Bit.  
  
"And why you guys know Spring's name, and who the heck Bit's guardian is..." said Kylie.  
  
"First things first, I am Bit's guardian," started Sylvia. "But I think we should start at the beginning, like all stories go. I'm not that good at explanations, though. A long time ago, after the Guardian Force helped defeat the Death Stinger, Fiona Alissi Linnett founded the Zoidian Guild to help other Zoidians such as herself learn more about their race and their pasts. The entire race of Zoidians were frozen in stasis pods while the Deathsaurer was on its first rampage, so that their race could survive. Those willing to stay behind managed to subdue the Zoid, but they were all killed, so there was no one left to release the rest of the Zoidians. Fiona vowed that she would help as many Zoidians as she could. Even after Fiona died (of old age, of course) the Zoidian Guild has still improved and expanded, but after a while our main purpose was no longer to find and release other Zoidians from their capsules. Civilization forgot about our little group after Fiona was gone.  
  
"About five years ago two of our kind-Akira and Hitoshi-were on an archeology dig when they came across a stasis pod. Despite warnings that were placed all over the vicinity during ancient times, they opened it and released the Zoidian, more like a creature or something, inside. It turns out that his partner organoid, like all Zoidians have, was actually Shadow, the organoid Van Fleiheit's nemesis Raven tamed a long time ago. So now he desperately wants Shadow back.  
  
"As if that wasn't enough, he told Akira and Hitoshi about the real meaning of the term Ultimate X. It was a prophecy from the old days before the Death Saurer almost wiped out the Zoidian race. There is only one Ultimate X, thus the word 'Ultimate' in it's name. Actually, the Ultimate X is an organoid, not an actual Zoid. So, the Zoids that you call Ultimate X's could very well be it, because they are permanently bonded with an organoid.  
  
"It just so happened that this Zoidian was the one who originally found the Death Saurer. He called himself the Kaiser Kage. That means 'Emperor Shadow.' But it wasn't his fault that it went berserk; no one knows exactly what happened. Back during the Death Stinger's rampage there was a man called the Dark Kaiser, but they're not the same people.  
  
"Since then Akira and Hitoshi have been searching for the Ultimate X. Not only does the Kage want his organoid back, but he also wants the X. The two practically worship him, but I don't know why. I guess they're bent on destruction, just like Kage.  
  
"Not that long ago they found and released Neos, another Zoidian. As coincidence would have it, he had once 'served' under the Kaiser. So of course he wasn't too happy when he learned that his old Kaiser was back in action, but Neos still went to him from boredom of having nothing evil to do. He lives to make humans' lives miserable, you see.  
  
"Okay, enough about the bad guys. The underground 'village' you were in isn't really a village. It's the Guild's headquarters and everyone there can speak our language. That was just a cover-up.  
  
"Anyways, about ten years ago recent discoveries led us to believe that a certain Chosen would have to pilot the Ultimate X. Since Kage wants to pilot it, if he discovered who it was he would simply have him or her killed. We couldn't allow it, so after researching more we determined the pilot would probably be a descendant of Van Fleiheit's. So, after researching further we learned who those people were and kinda assigned each of them a guardian to protect them. I'm Bit's, and Ptolemy is Kylie's. I don't know how to explain much else...  
  
"Oh yes, and you probably want to know what's with the recent events. Twilight is not my organoid. She's Neos' organoid, but I found and tamed her. Since then I've considered Twilight to be mine, but now we know that Neos can still control Twilight. Neos made Twilight kind of meld with Kylie, like she can do with a Zoid. Therefore Twilight was controlling Kylie's actions. This was only possible because Kylie is a human organoid, which I think you already knew. Right now Twilight is under my control again, so I don't think you need to worry about that happening again."  
  
Bit raised an eyebrow. "Okay... that went in one ear and directly out the other. I don't think that was in English, was it?"  
  
Sylvia sighed and shook her head. "Never mind; I told you I'm bad at explaining things. Now come on, let's get back to the base and get your friend Leena so you can go home."  
  
"Good," said Bit. "Let's go, Liger Zero-I mean, Liger Zero X." 


	12. The End is Near

Chapter XII: The End is Near (and it is.)  
  
"What has happened to our client?" The Count entered Altiel's observatory room and looked down at the Zoids below, a Wardick and a Gun Sniper. "She was supposed to eliminate the Blitz team by now."  
  
"We lost connection with her, sir," answered the Commander nervously. He was afraid that the Count would pin this on him, as usual. "I fear that her Zoid was destroyed."  
  
The Count grunted something and continued to watch the Zoids, which stopped moving. "And why exactly are we following these Zoids?"  
  
"One of them belongs to a Blitz team member." Commander Altiel relaxed a little bit. Maybe this time, for once, he wouldn't be blamed for something that wasn't his fault. "We were about to deploy one of my Geno Saurers..."  
  
"Then what are you waiting for?"  
  
***  
  
Leena sighed and looked up at the sun from the cockpit of her Zoid. Finally, she was above the ground again! "Now I understand why you're all so pale. You never see the sun!"  
  
"I guess you're right," laughed Ptolemy. "But let's concentrate on finding Bit and Nanase now, so you can go home."  
  
"Good," answered Leena. "So... My Gun Sniper is fully repaired, right?"  
  
"Err, hehehe... No."  
  
"WHAT?!!" shouted Leena angrily.  
  
"Didn't you even look at your Zoid before getting in it?" asked the Zoidian, (yes, all the people from the Zoidian Guild are, in fact, Zoidians, including Spring and Sylvia) raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No," said Leena impatiently. She opened the cockpit of her Gun Sniper and stood up, looking behind her. "Ahhh!!!!! NO!!! Not my Wild Weasel Unit!!! You'll pay for this, Ptolemy!!!"  
  
"I don't think I have enough money..."  
  
"Not like that! Argh! I'll get you!" Leena's Gun Sniper started chasing after the Wardick (Most of the Zoids that the Zoidian Guild owns are Wardicks, because the sharks can travel both underground and in the water, as the base is completely and totally underground, and there's a huge lake next to it) Ptolemy was piloting.  
  
"Hey!" shouted Ptolemy. "It's not my fault!" His Wardick turned around and used its shock cannons. Leena's Zoid took it full force and fell over. "It wasn' my decision!"  
  
"Argh!!!" yelled Leena. "Combat System Freeze (see note at the end of this chapter)? This isn't even an official battle!"  
  
"For a sixteen-year-old you're pretty immature..."  
  
"I'm even prettier when I'm being mature, thank you!" Leena grinned and made her Gun Sniper jump onto the Wardick before Ptolemy could make it dive underground. Consecutively it stomped on the Wardick mercilessly, concentrating on the shock cannons. "Take THAT and THAT and THAT and THAT and-"  
  
Suddenly Leena's Zoid was shot off of it and flew a few meters before crashing into the ground and skidding a few meters further before she could control it again.  
  
"Whew, thanks," began Ptolemy in relief to no one in particular. "You- Hey!!!"  
  
***  
  
"Bit! Bit!"  
  
Two Zoidians, two humans, an organoid, and one human organoid all turned around to see who was calling for Bit. He desperately hoped it was Leena. Wherever she was, she would probably be worried about him.  
  
***  
  
A Black Geno Saurer approached Ptolemy's Zoid and shot off its shock cannons-or what was left of them. "Ahh!" yelled Leena. "Please don't let it be Fuma or those other creeps! Please please please!!! Let it all be a bad dream..."  
  
The Geno Saurer took notice of Leena's Gun Sniper, without its Wild Weasel Unit, and slowly walked over. Leena was frozen in fear. Just as the Zoid was about to severe the Gun Sniper's head off Ptolemy's Wardick came flying underground and shot up, head-butting the Geno Saurer away.  
  
"Thank you Ptolemy!" said Leena with tears in her eyes. "I love you!"  
  
"Uh, no, you don't." Ptolemy looked over his shoulder at the recovering Geno Saurer. "You probably love Bit, though. Right about now is the time that we start running..."  
  
***  
  
Harry stared at the vast desert before him. He shouldn't have decided to go out into the desert alone, with only his Dark Horn. Let's face it, I'm lost, he thought. Only a miracle could get him out of his fix. Up ahead Harry noticed three Zoids running towards him-a Gun Sniper, a Wardick, and a black Geno Saurer. "Hey," he thought out loud, "That Gun Sniper looks just like Leena's! Except that there's no Wild Weasel Unit... Oh well! I'm coming, darling!"  
  
***  
  
Jamie and Dr. Toros walked into Hover Cargo and sat down at the controls. "Okay, Jamie, let's do a scan first!" said Dr. Toros happily. "You never know if one of the pieces will mysteriously disappear or break."  
  
"Uh, okay," replied Jamie. He started typing into the keyboard before him and soon a screen popped up showing Liger's conversion armor.  
  
"Okay... Let's do all three at once. Overall, it's faster that way."  
  
"Right, Doc," sighed Jamie. "Scanning Liger Zero's conversion armor system (that's what CAS stands for)." Jamie activated the scan and watched the screen as it scanned. Soon an error popped up. "System error," read Jamie quietly. "Liger Zero Jager, Schneider, and Panser do not exist...? Activating system modify?!! No!!! No, I don't want to do that!" With that Jamie started pressing control, alt, and delete rapidly, trying to shut down the program.  
  
"What's the problem, Jamie?" asked Dr. Toros, oblivious to everything around him. He grabbed a Bear Fighter model and made it tear apart what was left of his broken Command Wolf.  
  
"I can handle it!" shouted Jamie. Another window popped up. "Liger Zero X conversion armor systems Elen, Fuinë, and Atta modified? What is this?!!"  
  
Dr. Toros dropped both of his models when he looked up to see the screen. "Scan completed..." he read. "Jamie, what's going on? Liger's conversions are Jager, Schneider, and Panser. Did you accidentally rename them? I can fix that."  
  
"I have no idea what's going on!" Jamie started typing with a worried look on his face. "And I didn't rename them. Come look at this."  
  
***  
  
Liger Zero X turned around, watching the approaching Zoid. It wasn't Leena, but instead it was a blue Guysack. The cockpit opened and Vega stood up.  
  
"Vega!" shouted Kylie happily. "You're all right!"  
  
"Oh, hi, Nanase," replied Vega. "But I need to talk to Bit. Bit, you're in a lot of danger. Shadow-"  
  
"He knows, Vega," continued Kylie. "The danger's over. Shadow's gone, and Liger evolved."  
  
"That's neat," agreed Vega, "But there's more to this than Shadow."  
  
"We know that, too." Bit nodded.  
  
"Yeah, but Sarah told me that the Backdraft-"  
  
"And that Eira girl, the one working with the Backdraft, is gone," said Spring. She smiled at Vega, wondering why he looked so worried.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Don't worry, kid!" said Sephiroth.  
  
"Adrian?" asked Vega. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"It's Sephiroth, Vega. Just Sephiroth."  
  
***  
  
"Harry?" asked Leena, recognizing his modified Dark Horn in front of her. "Harry! Get out of the way!" she shouted franticly as the black Geno Saurer closed in.  
  
"Leena, darling!" answered Harry. "It's me, Harry Champ! I'm the man destined to be King, remember?!!"  
  
"You're destined to be dead if you don't start running," murmured Ptolemy.  
  
"Hey! Who are YOU?!"  
  
"Just do what he says and RUN, Harry!"  
  
***  
  
"But the Backdraft is sending another agent to destroy the Blitz team!" After Sylvia and Spring had explained everything, Vega was finally able to get a word in. "His name is Cid Marron and if you don't get out of here you're dead."  
  
"Hmm..." said Bit. "Wait! I have the Liger Zero X now. This would be a great opportunity to test his power."  
  
"If you're sure, Bit..."  
  
***  
  
Harry, Leena, and Ptolemy all ran-in Ptolemy's case, tunneled-in their Zoids, desperately trying to get away from the black Geno Saurer. "Are you lost, too?" asked Harry, almost completely oblivious to the danger they were in.  
  
"Just shut up!" shouted Leena.  
  
"Anything for you, Leena!"  
  
"Just shut up Harry! For the last time, I don't love you! I LOVE BIT CLOUD!"  
  
The words rang out across the desert, echoing over and over again. Not far off Bit and friends stood just in front of their Zoids. "Leena...?" thought Bit out loud. "Leena loves me?!!"  
  
"What else is new?" asked Sylvia, apparently not amused.  
  
"Leena's in trouble, Bit." Spring looked in the direction of Leena's voice.  
  
"How can you tell?!"  
  
"I'm a Zoidian. I'm sensitive to things like this." She turned and looked back at Bit. "You care about her. She needs your help, Bit. Do something."  
  
"Right." Bit grinned and climbed into Liger's cockpit. The others climbed into the cockpits of their Zoids, Kylie melding with hers, when Bit noticed that Liger's cockpit now housed two seats.  
  
***  
  
"What's that Zoid?" Leena asked herself, looking ahead at the black and blue Liger. She threw the thought from her head and concentrated on helping Harry. Directly after she yelled "I love Bit Cloud" his Dark Horn had slowed to a stop and hadn't moved since. At the moment it was being viciously attacked by the Geno Saurer, and Harry wasn't even bothering to defend himself.  
  
"Leena!" shouted Bit, seeing her Gun Sniper, Harry's Dark Horn, and a Wardick all being attacked by a black Geno Saurer. Liger Zero X ran forward and attempted to use Strike Laser Claw on the attacker, when Bit noticed that it didn't have a shadow. "Darn it, it's using Shadow mode. What do we do now?"  
  
"I could take it out!" shouted Kylie from her Shadow Fury.  
  
"I don't want to lose you again, Kylie." Bit frowned. "Besides, this is MY fight."  
  
"Too bad we don't have that weapon, whatsitcalled... That thing that neutralizes the transformation." Sephiroth shrugged and Sylvia glared at him.  
  
"This is serious, Sephiroth. Get a grip. Someone could get killed. Don't you care?"  
  
"Now that I think about it... no, not really..."  
  
"I can't believe you! You're such a fool..."  
  
***  
  
Dr. Toros leaned over Jamie and began typing on his keyboard, when suddenly yet another window popped up. "Liger Zero X Fuinë activated," he read. "Fuinë? What does that mean..."  
  
"I'm more concerned about the Liger Zero X part," said Jamie. "We don't have a Liger Zero X, just Liger Zero."  
  
"Unless..." began Dr. Toros.  
  
"Unless what?"  
  
"Unless Liger evolved into the Liger Zero X, and his armor evolved along with him."  
  
Jamie pulled up a diagram of the new armors and looked them over. "But these look nothing like the originals. They're not even the same colors."  
  
"You're right." Dr. Toro sat back down in his chair and sighed. "We'll just have to wait for Bit to get back from wherever he is."  
  
"If he's still alive."  
  
***  
  
Bit looked down at the panel in front of him. 'Liger Zero X Fuinë activated,' it said. "Liger Zero X Fuinë?" he asked himself. "What is that?"  
  
***  
  
Note: The Combat System Freeze thing. You probably already knew, but this is what you get in Chaotic Century. In New Century/Zero it's simply a Command System Freeze. W/ a Combat one all your weapons stop working, but that's all. I originally wrote this when Chaotic Century only showed in the mornings, so I find it necessary to say this. 


	13. Fuinë and Atta- Liger’s Shadow

Chapter XIII: Fuinë and Atta: Liger's Shadow  
  
Liger roared and glowed for a moment while the others watched in disbelief. Bit sat in his cockpit in awe.  
  
"Liger Zero X Fuinë," repeated Spring, trying to concentrate. "Err... Fuinë... Dark, black, night, shadow... Shadow! That's it! Liger Zero X Shadow!"  
  
With that Liger's blue armor and golden weapons all ejected and he turned completely black. New dark armor literally materialized out of nowhere and attached itself to the Liger Zero X, without the aid of the CAS chamber. "Awesome!" shouted Bit happily. He looked at the diagram of Liger Zero X Fuinë on the panel before him when it dawned on Bit that instead of rejoicing in this new armor, he should be helping Leena and the others. "Right, here we go! Fire away, Liger!" Liger roared in response and Bit had a worried look on his face. "What?! No weapons?!!"  
  
"Bit!" shouted Leena. "It's just like when you first fought with Liger-use Strike Laser Claw!"  
  
Bit smirked and nodded. Leena was right. "Okay, Liger! Strike Laser Claw!" he yelled as Liger jumped at the black Geno Saurer. Unfortunately the Zoid saw him just in time and hovered out of the way, shooting a hand out and grabbing Liger's leg.  
  
"You're not going to hurt my onii-san," said Kylie matter-of-factly, firing at the Geno Saurer from inside (errm)her Zoid, which had switched to Shadow mode not long ago. Bit barely got a chance to say 'thanks' before the Geno Saurer turned on Kylie and, surprisingly, took the Shadow Fury out with one shot.  
  
"Kylie!" shouted Bit, concerned for his sister.  
  
"Kylie?" asked Harry. "Who's Kylie..."  
  
The Fury slowly started to fade. It was between Zi and becoming nothing but a Fuinë, a Shadow. Somehow Kylie managed to split from the Fury just before it completely disappeared. Mad at her for having shot at it and not missed, the Geno Saurer-or rather its pilot-turned around and once again fired at Kylie, although this time she wasn't in her Zoid.  
  
Before the shots arrived Harry's Dark Horn ran in front of the shots, taking them head on.  
  
"Harry!" yelled Leena. "What do you think you're doing...?"  
  
Harry smiled weakly. "So you do care about me, at least a little bit... 'Bit,' get it? That's enough to reassure me that I WILL be missed when I leave..."  
  
'What are you talking about?" shouted Leena. "Harry, just run! You'll only get yourself hurt! I don't love you, but I still care about you in the least bit!"  
  
The black Geno Saurer turned on Leena now, and rammed into her Gun Sniper, somehow knocking the cockpit door open. Leena fell out of the cockpit; she had forgotten to put the restraints on.  
  
"That's enough!" shouted Bit. "I've had it with you, whoever you are! You're going to stop this and if you won't I'll make you!"  
  
"Persistent, are you?" said the pilot of the black Geno Saurer. "Hmm... Well then, I'll be the one defeating you or my name isn't Cid Marron!"  
  
Vega gave a nervous look. Cid was a well respected mercenary/assassin for the Backdraft. Nothing could scare him. Unless Bit found another weapon Liger could use, and fast, they were all doomed. Strike Laser Claw was powerful enough, but it was close range. The Geno Saurer would always be able to avoid it.  
  
While Cid started to pulverize Harry's Zoid, Liger brought his head down and opened the cockpit door. "C'mon, Leena, get in!" shouted Bit. Leena stood up and ran over, jumping in the co-pilot's seat behind Bit. "Thanks," she said. "Now let's get this punk!"  
  
"So persistent," Cid said to himself quietly. "So confident that they can beat me. Why is this?"  
  
"Okay, Liger!" yelled Bit cockily. "Let's show him your true power!"  
  
Liger roared and Leena looked at the panel in front of her. "Liger Zero X Atta activated," she read. "Confirming split code: Power." Bit looked around Liger's cockpit. Slowly yet surely it was changing. Liger roared, and he started to glow again. "Division setup 99% complete... confirm Division?"  
  
"Yeah, confirm the division thing, Leena!" answered Bit. "I don't know what it is, but who cares if it'll help us destroy that Geno Saurer!"  
  
"Division command confirmed," read Leena. "Liger Zero X Atta at full power! Dividing...?"  
  
Immediately after she said this the two seats in the cockpit separated. Somehow Liger split in two, and both halves regenerated into separate Ligers. "What is this?!!" asked Leena.  
  
Bit grinned. "Who cares! You ready?" Leena nodded in agreement. "Let's do it."  
  
Cid and the black Geno Saurer simply stared at the two Ligers. This was new. The Backdraft had NOT told Cid about this, or about Liger being able to use the Shadow mode. He was supposed to be no match for Cid and his Zoid.  
  
As Cid was staring in disbelief the two identical black Ligers positioned themselves on either side of his Zoid, which looked from one to the other in deep confusion.  
  
"Strike!" yelled Bit.  
  
"Laser!" yelled Leena.  
  
"CLAW!!!" they yelled together, both Ligers running forward and jumping at the same time. The Ligers went straight through their enemy and landed on the opposite side they had started. 


	14. In Every Story...

Finale: In Every Story...  
  
In every story there is an alpha, a beginning. In every story there is conflict; in every story there is love. And in this story there was much more than that. Emotions and feelings dominate the human personality. If you rule those out you are not left with an individual; you are left with nothing. A character that is normally an asset to the story becomes nothing but a stick figure that was just drawn. As minor details and traits are added, the figure changes dramatically from nothing but a few lines and curves to a beautiful, award-winning portrait.  
  
But that leaves one question yet to be answered: are emotions really there? Are they really necessary? Zoids-were they real? Well, of course they were REAL, but the real question was, which did not belong on Zi: humans or Zoids? Organoids showed signs of personalities, however small they were. Trinity was often impatient and yearned to fight, but was she a living thing? Or should Akira look at her as a 'he?' Did organoids have genders, anyways? Should they be called 'its?'  
  
Akira's thoughts were interrupted when Neos turned the corner of the abandoned warehouse and approached her. "Hey there," he said. "I'm here to relieve you of your watch, of course."  
  
Akira mumbled something and looked up at Zi's moons, which were just beginning to show. "Have you ever wondered..."  
  
"If the Kaiser's wrong about humans?" guessed Neos.  
  
"Not what I was going to ask, but close enough."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
" 'Hmm?' "  
  
"It's a human thing. Grows on you when you're around them too much."  
  
"...oh. Even when your point in life is to make others miserable?"  
  
"To make HUMANS miserable. Not other Zoidians. Most of the time. For Hitoshi, I'd make an exception."  
  
Akira smiled at this. "For someone bent on getting rid of all humans, you're pretty funny sometimes, at least as funny as us Zoidians can be."  
  
Neos managed to smile back. "Yeah, well, don't tell Hitoshi."  
  
"I won't. If only he would shut up and quietly disappear..."  
  
"Amen to that."  
  
"So not only can you be humorous, you also believe in a higher being?"  
  
"It's just a saying!"  
  
"Hmm."  
  
" 'Hmm' is right."  
  
***  
  
Kylie watched as the Black Geno Saurer slowly began to fade. "Are you just going to let him fade away from this world, just like that?!" she shouted. Sure, maybe she hated this man for trying to hurt her and her friends and her brother. Maybe he deserved to die. So why didn't she want him to die? Well, the term wasn't exactly die, but it was probably like dying. It was probably like living in a place in between reality and death. The answer to her question? Because. Because could be an answer to any question. Sometimes it made no sense, but when the real answer wouldn't make any more sense, a simple 'because' would suffice.  
  
"He deserves to die," said Leena in reply. She glared at the Geno Saurer. "Destroying my Gun Sniper like that is inexcusable! And besides, he's not technically dying. Maybe his Zoid is destroyed, but he'll just be stuck as a Shadow forever."  
  
"Not always forever," Sylvia reminded her.  
  
"Besides, Leena, it's just a Zoid," remarked Bit as the two Ligers he and Leena had been piloting walked around for a moment, then turned back around and ran into each other, becoming just one Liger Zero X again. The black armor disappeared and Liger's blue armor came back on. "Sweet!"  
  
"It wasn't 'just a Zoid.' " Kylie scowled at her brother. "Am I 'just a Zoid,' too?"  
  
"Kylie, that's not what I meant! You're not a Zoid! You're a human being- oh dang..." shouted Bit quickly. His sister had always been somewhat judgmental and very emotional, especially when it came to family.  
  
Too late. *Whoever that pilot of the Dark Horn was... who saved my life... I'll come back and figure out who you are. I promise.* Kylie closed her eyes and fused with the black Geno Saurer.  
  
"What the heck do you think you're doing?!!" yelled Bit in distress. "Kylie!"  
  
***  
  
Kylie opened her eyes and placed her hands on either side of the Geno Saurer's Zoid Core (errm). Now that she was in it, what could she do? If she wasn't fast enough she would be a Shadow forever as well as Cid, but she couldn't let that happen to him. Not that she cared about him, but no one deserved to be a Shadow forever. What was she supposed to do?!! What did she have to do to save both herself and Cid?!!  
  
An overwhelming pain struck Kylie as she felt herself being forcefully pulled out of the Geno Saurer...  
  
*Don't do this to yourself, Nanase; not while you still have a family.*  
  
***  
  
"What's going on?" asked Leena as the Geno Saurer faded back into sight after almost disappearing. "But I thought we destroyed it!"  
  
"And where's Kylie..."  
  
"WHO IS KYLIE?!!" shouted Harry in an attempt to be heard. His attempt failed. Again.  
  
The Black Geno Saurer roared once and then hovered away.  
  
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "What was that about? I mean, you guys took it out, and then Nanase-"  
  
"Kylie," corrected Bit.  
  
"-Kylie wanted to help a guy who almost KILLED her, if it wasn't for Harry, and then the Geno Saurer is suddenly fine again? Did she do that on purpose?"  
  
"I don't think Kylie did anything, really. She didn't have enough time to- " started Sylvia.  
  
"WHERE AND WHO IS KYLIE?!!" asked Harry very loudly.  
  
He was ignored. "As I was saying, she didn't have enough time to do anything." Sylvia shook her head. "...I don't think there's any way she could have made it out, and we would've seen her do that, anyways..."  
  
"So what are you saying?" asked Bit.  
  
"...either she's stuck in the Geno Saurer or she's..."  
  
"..dead. Again," finished Bit.  
  
"Again?" asked Sephiroth.  
  
"Twilight or Neos or somebody said that she wasn't alive, like a Zoid."  
  
"That's ridiculous."  
  
"So, she did die, but the Backdraft sort of unintentionally brought her back to life with the experiment that made her a human organoid?" asked Leena. Bit shrugged. "Don't worry, Bit..." she murmured. "I'm here for you. Err, Harry, what were you saying?"  
  
Harry and his badly damaged Dark Horn were already gone.  
  
***  
  
"Why did he just run off like that?!" shouted Commander Altiel. He was beginning to lose his temper. "He could have easily destroyed the Liger Zero!"  
  
"If you didn't notice," replied the more sensible Count, "The Liger Zero is significantly stronger than it was when the Berserk Fury fought it. In fact, I'm not sure if that is the same Liger."  
  
"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Altiel, calming down a bit.  
  
"Wait." The Count turned from the window and began to leave the room. "Eventually someone who can defeat that Ultimate X will turn up."  
  
"Yes, Count," grumbled Altiel.  
  
"I can, but it comes with a price." Someone stepped out of the shadows in the room and smirked, ginger curls covering one red eye.  
  
"Ayumi Kroger..." muttered the Count. "Not again. I seem to have no choice. If I refuse, you'll kill me anyways."  
  
The nineteen-year-old smiled darkly and agreed. "It is the inevitable. So is the destruction of the Ultimate X. And remember, I'm not doing this for you, Uncle. I do this for myself, and for a friend I call Kaiser."  
  
The Count swore under his breath. Not another one of Kaiser Kage's thugs! They were always getting in the Backdraft's way. He had never been informed that his niece and Commander Altiel's cousin had met the Kaiser. The Shadow of Zi. Of course, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Ayumi would simply take advantage of her position and kill him easily; she did that a lot. She had done it five years ago, when she was only fourteen, helping Commander Altiel destroy the Wind Colony. Gun Snipers weren't exactly her favorite pick for a Zoid, but she was good with any Zoid, so that hadn't mattered. Back then she was a lot worse at piloting then she was now. No one defeated her and lived to brag about it for very long. "Fine. What do you want?"  
  
"Let me think about it," she replied, long ethnic earrings making a wind- chime like sound as she turned her head to look out the observatory window. "How about I don't actually destroy the Liger Zero X for good, just disable it?"  
  
"But that's the whole point- Liger Zero X?" Commander Altiel said.  
  
Ayumi laughed and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Yes, Liger Zero X. Liger Zero's evolved form. I have one myself."  
  
"But there's only one Liger Zero!" shouted Altiel.  
  
"Not so. There are more than one, though they are very rare. But there is only one Ultimate X, and that is Bit Cloud's Liger Zero X. Until the apocalypse, see ya." With that Ayumi left the room, and probably the Whale King, as the Count could hear someone yell, "Hey! You can't steal that Hammerhead!"  
  
"Of course I can."  
  
In every story there's an alpha and an omega; a beginning and an ending. Usually stories start with "once upon a time," and end with "they lived happily ever after." But in this story, this is not the case.  
  
Sephiroth immediately went to work developing new weapons for the ZBC. Sylvia went back to the Zoidian Guild, still as Bit's guardian. Ptolemy and Ehtelë also went back to their research and the archeology of another ancient Zoidian city. Brad left the team and joined Naomi and Leon's team. Bit and Leena's lives went back to normal-well, almost. Vega Obscura began to dominate Zoid battles again with his new blue Guysack. Mary was happy to take over the Champ team and continue Harry's losing streak, even though she actually won a few battles every once in a while. The three Zoidians, Neos, Akira, and Hitoshi, disappeared for a while. Ayumi went off to take care of a few old enemies and enhance her skill as a Zoid pilot. The Count kept putting up with Commander Altiel. Eira's family never discovered what happened to her, as did no one else except for the remaining citizens of Guyglos. Jamie Hemeros and Dr. Toros continued studying Liger's new armor. As for Harry, who didn't learn the answer to his question, and Kylie, along with others, their story shall be saved for later, when nothing makes sense anymore. Not that it ever did.  
  
end part i of the shadow saga (a quadrilogy by me, loriena)(edited version) 


	15. Theme Songs!

Theme Songs  
  
These are the theme songs for my characters, okay? Don't ask, I was bored. BTW, I changed my mind about the sequels name, it's now "Zoids: Renegade Shadow." (And the unnecessary quote is "Nothing makes sense anymore." For Dreams of Shadows it's "You're only safe if you stay awake.")  
  
Format!  
  
Name: Performer/Composer- Song (Album/Game/Soundtrack)  
  
***  
  
Bit Cloud and Zeke's theme (main theme): The Calling- Wherever You Will Go (Camino Palmero)  
  
Nanase's theme: Linkin Park- Crawling (Hybrid Theory)  
  
Leena Toros' theme: Shanice Williams- Love is the Gift (The Bouncer)  
  
Sylvia Minogue and Twilight's theme: Yasunori Mitsuda- Small Two of Pieces (Xenogears)  
  
Bradley Hunter's theme: Linkin Park- By Myself (Hybrid Theory)  
  
Naomi Fluegel's theme: Faye Wong- Eyes on Me (Final Fantasy VIII)  
  
Sephiroth's theme: Lit- Over My Head (Titan A. E.)  
  
Vega Obscura's theme: Yasunori Mitsuda- Two Wings (Xenogears)  
  
Harry Champ's theme: Michelle Branch- All You Wanted (Michelle Branch)  
  
Eira Champ's theme: Hoobastank- Remember Me (Hoobastank)  
  
Ptolemy's theme: Hoobastank- Crawling in the Dark (Hoobastank)  
  
Ehtelë/Spring's theme: Yaunori Mitsuda- Kokoro's Theme (Xenosaga)  
  
Neos' theme: Nobuo Uematsu- Liberi Fatali (Final Fantasy VIII)  
  
Akira and Trinity's theme: Linkin Park- Papercut (Hybrid Theory)  
  
Hitoshi and Kurai's theme: Linkin Park- Points of Authority (Hybrid Theory)  
  
Ayumi Kroger's theme: Apocalyptica- Master of Puppets (Apocalyptica)  
  
Cid Marron's theme: Yasunori Mitsuada- Grahf, Emperor of Darkness (Xenogears)  
  
Mary Champ's theme: Simon and Milo- Get a Clue  
  
Jamie Hemeros' theme: 03th MS Team Closing (08th MS Team)  
  
***  
  
Crisis/Battle theme(s):  
  
Apocalyptica- Hope (Apocalyptica)  
  
Yasunori Mitsuda- Dues (Xenogears)  
  
Yasunori Mitsuda- Time's Scar (Chrono Cross)  
  
Yoko Shimomura- Dive into the Heart -Detasti- (Kingdom Hearts)  
  
***  
  
Love (including the love songs that are character themes) theme(s):  
  
Nobuo Uematsu- First Love (Final Fantasy 8)  
  
Nobuo Uematsu- Tifa's Theme (Final Fantasy 7)  
  
Yasunori Mitsuda- Star Stealing Girl (Chrono Cross)  
  
The Calling- Wherever You Will Go (Camino Palmero)  
  
Yaunori Mitsuda- Kokoro's Theme (Xenosaga)  
  
Dennis Martin- If You Still Believe (The Legend of Dragoon)  
  
Shanice Williams- Love is the Gift (The Bouncer)  
  
Amy Grant- That's What Love is For (Kushelrock 7)  
  
***  
  
Flashback theme(s):  
  
Yasunori Mitsuda- Another Aruni Village (Chrono Cross)  
  
Yasunori Mitsuda- Reminiscence, Feelings Not Erased (Chrono Cross)  
  
Dennis Martin- Ending Theme (The Legend of Dragoon) 


End file.
